The Love in the Heart
by FictionWriter91
Summary: When Brennan returns from Maluku to discover that Booth had moved on, her heart aches. As everyone around her gains new relationships and new life, she begins to feel she's missing something. What no one knows is Brennan is haunted by a decision she made back in Maluku, and in order to set things right, she has to return. When she comes back to D.C., everything changes. AU
1. Chapter 1

**We, I love Kol Miakelson and Fictionwriter91, are proud to present our first Bones story as co-writers: The Love in the Heart. We apologize for posting then deleting...there were some technical difficulties. Anyhow, we appreciate your support, reviews, follows, and favorites! Please enjoy!**

* * *

Brennan tried very hard to focus. This case was important.

 _I met someone. Hannah. She's a war correspondent, a journalist. She's great.  
_

 _H-how did you meet?_

Brennan swiped away those thoughts. She had to focus. This boy had to be identified.

 _I arrested her in a restricted area._

 _You-you arrested me once._

How could she not have realized that he'd meet someone? Just because he was in a war torn area?

 _Is it serious between you two?_

 _As serious as a heart attack._

 _Those are very serious._

 _Yea, they are.  
_

"So, is it him?" Cam asked, crashing into her thoughts. Brennan looked up.

"His canines have root completion," Wendell said, looking at her for confirmation.

"Yes," Brennan nodded. "Plus the fusion of the vertebral elements."

 _Please don't leave me here!_

 _I'm sorry. I have to get home. They'll find your family._

 _No! Don't go!_

"So, that makes this child over three years old?" Cam asked, looking at them both. Brennan blinked.

"Yes," Wendell said. Brennan nodded absently.

"If I reconstruct this skull," Angela said, peering at it. "It will come out Asian."

"Definitely not Logan Bartlett," Cam sighed.

* * *

"What I did miss was my period..." Angela trailed off. She looked at Brennan expectantly.

"Oh!" Brennan exclaimed. She went over to hug her friend. She felt a twinge then. It had been hard enough when Angela got married and spent most of her time with Hodgins. Then they moved to Paris. Now Angela was going to embark on a new journey, leaving her behind. Like her parents did. Like Russ did. Like Booth did.

 _Don't go!_

Like she had done.

"I have to go," Brennan said abruptly.

* * *

"You can't go!" Cam cried. "I need you!"

"It won't be for long. I will be back. I really, really need to finish some business. I promise I'm coming back," Brennan swore. How could she have abandoned him there? What was wrong with her? She was NOT like her parents. Cam looked at her skeptically.

"What could be so important that you'd leave us all hanging for?" Cam asked.

"I can't say," Brennan answered. "Do I have the time off or no?"

"Yes. Do what you gotta do. Whatever that is," Cam sighed. Brennan smiled and took off running.

 _As serious as a heart attack.  
_

Well, she could be that serious too.

* * *

"Where is Bones?" Booth demanded over the phone.

"She...she had to leave," Cam answered.

"What?! We were supposed to be checking out sweat shops together! Where did she go?"

"She asked me not to say," Cam said.

"Oh come on, Cam! Don't be like that!" Booth exclaimed.

"Sorry. Boss employee privileges," Cam told him. He growled on the other end of the line.

"Great. Okay. Thanks anyway, Cam," he said, hanging up.

* * *

 _She had stumbled across a camp. It was notably destroyed. She had gone out on her own while Daisy slept, so she was alone. There had been a fire, and from what she could see, someone had tried to burn two people. Brennan very much hoped they had been dead long before the fire. She felt her throat tighten. This place was dangerous. She knew that. Of course she did. Booth had gone somewhere dangerous too. Perhaps she felt it made things even, that he'd have to worry about her just as much as she was worrying about him. She stepped along the path quietly. She very much hoped whoever had killed those people were long gone. Then she paused. She could hear something, crying. She swiveled her head around, listening hard. Once she found where it was coming from, she moved towards it. Pulling back the brush, she found a small, sobbing boy.  
_

 _"Hello," she said. He gasped and buried his head. "Oh no, no! I'm not going to hurt you. I can help you." The boy looked at her carefully.  
_

 _"Are they gone?" he asked._

 _"They're gone," she nodded. The boy looked about five years old. "Why are you hiding?"_

 _"Mommy told me to run," he said quietly.  
_

 _"Oh," Brennan said, getting it. Those charred remains had been his parents.  
_

 _"Did you see them?" he asked hopefully.  
_

 _"What's your name?" Brennan asked instead.  
_

 _"Louis," he replied. He wiped under his nose.  
_

 _"I'm Temperance," she said._

 _"That's a pretty name," he smiled.  
_

 _"Thank you," she smiled back. "Why were you out here with your family?"_

 _"We moved here from Paris. Daddy wanted to be an explorer."_

 _"I see."_

 _"Mommy didn't really want to, but she said we had to because we loved him," Louis crinkled his nose.  
_

 _"Louis," Brennan started. She had no idea how to say this. "Louis, your parents...they're dead." His little face held no recognition for a moment until..._

 _"Nooooo!" he bawled. He started beating his fists on the ground. "No, no, no, no!"_

 _"Louis, please don't shout!" Brennan cried. She was very concerned those killers would return, especially if they knew he was still alive. She gathered the small boy into her arms and rocked him as he cried his heart out. Once he stopped, he looked up at her.  
_

 _"What happens to me now?"_

 _"I guess we find a place for you to stay," Brennan said. She was thinking of an orphanage. Perhaps there they could locate his family.  
_

 _"No! I wanna stay with you!"_

 _"Louis, you can't stay with me," Brennan told him.  
_

 _"Just for a little while?"_

 _"I..."_

 _"Dr. Brennan?" Daisy's voice called. Oh crap.  
_

 _"Here," Brennan answered.  
_

 _"Dr. Brennan! I just saw the most horrible thing..." Daisy trailed off, seeing Louis. "Who's this?"_

 _"Louis," Brennan replied. "His parents are..." She gestured back towards where the remains were. Daisy gasped and covered her mouth with her hands.  
_

 _"What do we do?" she asked.  
_

 _"He'll stay with us until we find an orphanage," Brennan explained. Louis hopped up. He took her hand and they walked back to their camp, avoiding the place where his parents had died. It took five days to reach civilization, and by then, Louis had latched onto her as though she would disappear. It only made what she had to do even harder.  
_

* * *

 _"He'll be safe here?" Brennan asked. The lady nodded.  
_

 _"Of course. We'll try to track his family," she smiled. Brennan felt confident they would.  
_

 _"Louis," she said bending down to his level. "It's been wonderful, but this is where we go our separate way."_

 _"No!" he cried. "Don't leave me!"_

 _"I'm sorry. I have to get back home. They'll find your family," she promised. His brilliant green eyes filled with tears.  
_

 _"No! Don't go!"  
_

 _"Louis," the woman said. "The lady has to leave now. Come along." She pulled on his hand. Louis screamed as he was pulled away. Brennan felt her heart slice into two. She stood on shaky legs and walked out of the building. He had a family. She couldn't just take him. It wouldn't be right. His scream echoed in her mind and soul for days afterwards.  
_

* * *

Brennan hurried to the familiar building she had left a few days ago. She skidded to a halt at the front desk.

"You're back," the woman smiled. Her nametag said Janice.

"Yes. The boy. Louis. Is he still here?" Brennan asked, out of breath.

"He is. He's been quite the handful," Janice laughed.

"Did you find his family?" Brennan cut her off. Janice looked somber then.

"No. Turns out an illness wiped out any surviving relatives. He had no one. We're trying to get him adopted here..."

"Me," Brennan said.

"W-what?"

"Me. I'll take him. Please. I can't leave him here," she said. "He's not Indonesian. He has nobody. Please, just let me take him."

"We don't know anything about you..." Janice started.

"I'm a forensic anthropologist," Brennan said, slapping her identification down. "I have a good apartment." She pulled out pictures. She was prepared for this.

"I...I don't know..."

"Look, I am not leaving here without him, so make it happen!" Brennan snapped. Janice looked scared for a moment.

"I haven't fully registered him here yet," she mentioned.

"Good. That's good. Don't register him. I'll just take him and it's like he was never here," Brennan nodded encouragingly. Janice looked unsure.

"Temperance?" Louis's voice called. Brennan turned and his face broke into a huge grin. "It IS you!" He hurled himself into her arms.

"Louis," she said, breaking apart and looking into those green, green eyes. "You are coming with me." She looked up at Janice meaningfully, and she got the hint.

"Yes," Janice nodded. "Louis, you're going with her."

* * *

 **We are not getting technical with the whole out of country adoption rules for the purposes of this story. Hannah will be mentioned as she was part of canon for the first bit, but we're not fans of her either, so look forward to her looking like an idiot eventually. Thanks for reading! :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you so much for reviewing! We are extremely glad you are enjoying our story!**

* * *

Brennan stared at the little boy sleeping beside her in first class. The bruise on his cheek was still evident from the last time she saw him, just a little more faint. She examined it now since before she had been too focused on getting him to safety to look at it properly. It almost looked fist size, but she didn't want to go there just yet. She'd ask him questions later. She sighed and examined the rest of him. He had walked with a bit of a limp when they left the orphanage. She wasn't sure how she had missed that before. She chalked it up to being in a hurry and mostly carrying him. Brennan looked out her window and at the clouds. Louis had been fascinated with the plane. The television specifically had grabbed his attention, and he was in awe by it. This caused Brennan to wonder about his parents. Did they not have a television? Everyone had a television. Well, not her because she didn't have time, but most people did. Like Booth. _Booth_. The thought of him made her wince inside. He'd be furious that she took off on him like that, but the longer she sat there, the more she began to believe that it was none of his business. They used to tell each other everything, and then he went off and fell in love without so much as a word. They hadn't really been in communication, but there had been at least one letter, and he hadn't mentioned Hannah. She would have remembered. Brennan looked back at Louis. He was her secret. Just like Hannah had been Booth's. Louis stirred then and opened his eyes. He shook his head, his blond curls shaking at the movement, and rubbed his eyes.

"Are we there yet?" he asked hopefully. He looked pale. Brennan didn't think he'd been on planes very often since he was violently sick right after take off. The flight attendant had been wonderful about it.

"Almost," Brennan promised. He looked around.

"How come there's so little of us here?"

"Because it's first class," Brennan explained.

"What's first class?" he asked, confused.

"Well," Brennan hesitated. How could she explain to a child that she was loaded?

"Is it because we got to the plane first?" Louis went on.

"No. It's because I have a lot of money," Brennan answered. His eyes widened.

"Really?!"

"Yes. I write books, and I work as a forensic anthropologist," she added.

"What's that?" he questioned, scratching his head.

"I examine...people who have died," Brennan said. She had some sense not to get too gory in front of him.

"Like my parents," Louis nodded solemnly.

"Yes," Brennan agreed.

"Temperance," he started. "Why did they die?" Her breath caught in her throat. Even if she did have the answer, she wasn't sure she could tell him.

"I don't know, Louis," she answered. "I really don't."

"Oh. I just thought that since you looked at dead people, you'd know," he said, looking disappointed.

"I didn't examine them, Louis. I was too concerned to get you to safety," she told him softly. He just nodded and looked away. He swung his legs and picked at the armrest.

"How old are you?" Brennan asked. She had wanted to know since they'd left.

"I'm six," he answered proudly.

"That's a good age," she smiled at him. "Were you always from Paris?"

"Yes. Mama spoke English and Papa spoke French and English. He said he met Mama when she was on a trip there, and she just never left," Louis told her. "Mama was always sick, though. Papa was too, sometimes. Uncle Jerry would look after me when they were sick."

"Oh," Brennan said, her stomach clenching. He had an uncle? "What happened to Uncle Jerry? Was he sad you all left?"

"No. He's dead too," Louis said. "Mama said he was."

"I see," Brennan nodded, relaxing. "Do you have any other family?"

"No. I never met my grandparents. Mama said they died in a fire," Louis explained matter-of-factly. "Papa never talked about his family. Mama said he was an orphan. Hey! Just like me!"

"You're not an orphan anymore," Brennan reassured him. "You have me." She reached over and ruffled his hair playfully, making him smile brightly at her.

"What do I call you?" he asked. "I don't know if I want another Mama just yet."

"Temperance is fine. Until you're ready," Brennan added. He had just lost his mother after all. It made sense to her. She wasn't sure she was ready to be called a Mama just yet either. This boy seemed mentally older than he was. She was pondering over what he meant by his parents being sick all the time.

"Okay, Temperance," Louis said. He leaned his head back and closed his eyes again. Brennan had so many questions about his parents still, but she left it alone. He was visibly tired. She'd wait for a better time.

* * *

Booth was pacing his apartment and staring at his phone. Why hadn't she called? Where the hell was she? How could she have done this to him in the middle of such an important case?! Was she sick? Was she hurt? Was she lying somewhere dying and trying to get a hold of him and couldn't?

"Seeley, slow down," Hannah laughed. "You're gonna put a hole in the floor." She sat at the kitchen counter flipping a newspaper. She knew he was upset about Temperance leaving. She wished he would talk to her about it. After all, she'd only just gotten back to D.C., and he was obsessed with this doctor woman. He stopped in his tracks and looked at her. She met his eyes with a slightly raised brow.

"You're right," he agreed. He came to sit beside her. "What are you reading?"

"My competition," she smirked. "I like to get a feel for what I'm up against."

"That's my girl," he smiled, giving her a kiss. His phone vibrated, making him almost leap to his feet in hope. It was soon dashed.

"Not her?" Hannah asked.

"No. Just Cam," Booth sighed.

"I'm sure she's just fine," Hannah reassured him.

"I hope you're right," Booth muttered.

* * *

Brennan and Louis had made it through the airport security without too many hiccups. Her papers of adoption were legit enough, and his passport helped. That was a miracle it was on him at all when she found him. It had been around his neck like a necklace, which raised more questions, but she didn't ask them right now. She breathed a sigh of relief. She briefly wondered if security was so lenient because it was Maluku they were coming from and not some prestigious place. She found the ignorance of people laughable sometimes. Louis tagged along behind her, eyes wide as he scanned everything around him. She laughed as he asked her a million questions about things. Then she had another question for him.

"How long have you been at Maluku?" she asked. Louis stopped staring around to look at her.

"A long time. Since I was three, I think. I don't really remember Paris," he said.

"I see," she nodded. This made a lot more sense now, why he was so in awe of everything. Living in a bush for three years would do that to you, especially if you didn't remember a city such as Paris.

"Are we going home?" he asked excitedly. She laughed.

"Yes, Louis, we are going home," she told him. He grabbed her hand and swung it back and forth with his. She felt pain inside at his little hobble. She was going to X-ray that leg as soon as possible and see what was wrong.

* * *

"TEMPERANCE!"

Brennan shot forward out of bed, gasping for air. She scrabbled for the light and clicked it on. Thunder cracked in the distance. Booth's face swam before her eyes. He had been screaming her name. She had been buried in that car again...

"TEMPERANCE!"  
She whirled her head around. Someone was still shouting her name. She sat there confused for a moment until it hit her. Louis. She leaped out of bed and ran down to the guest bedroom where Louis was crying. He was sitting up with the blankets bunched around him.

"Louis," she said, sitting beside him. She stroked his forehead, which was damp with sweat. "Louis, what's wrong?"

"I had a nightmare," he said in a small voice.

"Tell me," she commanded. She tried to keep her own nightmare at bay while she listened.

"I...I was very small. There...there was a lot of shouting. I d-don't remember their faces. Guns w-went off. I was screaming..." Louis trailed off. Brennan rubbed his back rhythmically as he kept talking.

"I can't see them. I feel it's wrong to leave them behind, but they were so nice..." Louis muttered. His eyes fluttered as he grew sleepy from Brennan's comforting touch.

"You're safe now," Brennan said soothingly. "No one can hurt you here." She was sure he was talking about her and Daisy taking him away from his dead parents on Maluku. It was the only thing that made sense. Then she frowned. He said he had been very small, so what did that mean? His subconscious made him into a little boy instead of being his proper age? She was not one to interpret dreams. She briefly thought of Sweets, but shook that away. Louis was finally calm again, and he was muttering something incoherent as he drifted off to sleep again. Brennan sat there watching him, feeling her love for this child swell up inside her. Louis had her heart. She didn't think it was possible to feel like this for someone, but it was happening, and she welcomed it. She got up carefully and went back to her own bed. She couldn't fall asleep as the storm grew worse outside. She kept thinking about Booth. Why couldn't she stop thinking about Booth?! It was insane. She had been the one to push him away and tell him no. She was the one who couldn't let herself be loved by him, so he moved on. Why was that suddenly so heartbreaking to her? Lightning flashed again, followed by a heavy crash of thunder.

"Temperance?" Louis' small voice said at her doorway. Brennan lifted her head to look at him.

"Yes?"

"Can I sleep with you? I'm scared," he whimpered.

"Come here," she said. He came over and crawled in under the sheets beside her, pressing his face against her to block out the lightning. She cuddled him close to her until she felt him breathing deeply and evenly again. Eventually, she fell asleep too from the warmth of his little body next to hers.

* * *

"Pick up, pick up," Booth muttered to himself, listening to the phone ring in his ear.

"Hi, you've reached Dr. Temperance Brennan. Please leave me a message and..."

"Damn it!" he growled, hanging up furiously. He wasn't going to leave another message. That would make him look desperate.

"Whoo bad storm last night, huh?" Hannah asked, coming up behind him and kissing his neck. Booth felt slightly irritated by this, which surprised him.

"Yea," he answered.

"So what's on the agenda today?" Hannah asked, helping herself to his toast that he had left on his plate. He couldn't bring himself to eat.

"Work," he said a little roughly. "I'll see you later, okay?" He got up and grabbed his keys. Hannah sat there looking a little wounded that he hadn't even kissed her goodbye. Who was this Temperance anyway?

* * *

"Hi, Cam," Brennan said into the phone. "I'm not coming in today. Or for the next few days."

"O-okay," Cam replied. "Is everything all right?"

"Yes. Everything is fine. I just need a bit more time," Brennan told her. She heard Cam sigh on the phone and felt bad. She knew Cam needed her, especially since she'd almost lost the Jeffersonian.

"All right. Call me when you're able to come back," Cam said finally. "Are you ever going to explain why?"

"Soon," Brennan promised. Then she hung up. Louis was at the table staring at the avocado as if it was a grenade.

"What's wrong?" she asked. She didn't know the first thing about kids and food. Was this not okay?

"What is it?" he asked instead, poking it.

"It's healthy food. An avocado," she explained. He wrinkled his nose. "What?"

"Don't you have any cereal? Or toast?" he asked.

"Yes," she said quickly. Toast! Honestly, what was the matter with her? She plunked two pieces into the toaster as Louis pushed the plate with the lone avocado away from him as if it would bite him.

"What are we doing today?" he asked.

"I was thinking we could go shopping and get you some clothes and stuff," she answered, smiling.

"Okay!" he cried, excited. "Can we get some licorice? It's my favorite."

"I don't see why not," she laughed. The toast came up, and within moments Louis was chewing on it eagerly with a happy expression on his face. Her phone buzzed again. She glanced at it.

 **Where r u?**

Booth again. She set it down without answering. Let him sweat.

"I'm ready!" Louis called, wiping the crumbs off his hands.

"Okay," she said. "Let's go!"

* * *

"What do you mean, Bones isn't coming in to work today?" Booth asked Cam angrily. "We have a case!"

"Yes, and she needs some time off," Cam responded. "I'm sorry, Seeley, but she's not coming in." He stared at her.

"What could she possibly need time off for?" he demanded.

"I don't know. Can you just go do your thing so I can do mine?" Cam asked. "Take Clark with you. I'm sure he'll enjoy a walk in the woods to the cave where the bodies were found last night. Those poor hikers. Trying to escape the storm and finding that." Cam shook her head as Booth growled and turned to find Clark.

* * *

Brennan tried not to think about what Booth was doing that day as she shopped with Louis. The little boy made her laugh constantly at either his marvel at something or his jokes. She wondered who he got the humor from, his mother or his father. His limp became more evident as the day went on, and she knew he'd had enough when he couldn't keep up to her and complained of being tired. They had accomplished a lot. She had gotten him everything he needed. When they had reached the toy section, she watched as he fingered the Hot Wheels cars hanging on the rack.

"Did you want one?" she had asked.

"Can I?" he had asked back, astonished.

"Yes," she had laughed. "You can have some."

"Like, how many?"

"Um, five?" Brennan hadn't known the appropriate answer. They were cheap after all.

"Cool!" Louis had shouted. He picked the five he wanted, and they went on their way. Brennan was still thinking about this in the car as they drove home. He had acted as though toys were something he'd never had or been allowed to have. She watched as he drove the cars around the backseat, imitating noises of engines. When they got home and settled, Louis came up to her as she made dinner.

"Thank you, Temperance," he said shyly. "For the cars." He hugged her legs tightly and ran off to play. Brennan made a note to take him to the doctor tomorrow for a check up and to talk about that leg. She busied herself when pounding came at her door. Heart racing, she went to answer. Louis hadn't heard as he was in his room busy playing. She opened the door to Booth's face.

"Yes?" she asked. He looked angry. She could tell that right away. She came out and shut the door behind her.

"Where have you been?" he demanded. "What is going on? Bones, this is not like you to just abandon me during a case!"

"I did not abandon you," Brennan answered hotly. "You had it figured out."

"That...that doesn't matter!" he said angrily. "What is going on?!"

"It's nothing to concern yourself with," Brennan told him. He gaped at her.

"Are you serious right now?" he asked.

 _As a heart attack_ , she thought to herself.

"Yes," she said out loud. "Can you please leave?"

"What?! Why?!" he asked, getting worked up.

"Because! You're upsetting me," Brennan answered. They stared at one another. _I could have loved you_ , she thought. _I really could have if you hadn't found her instead, if you had just given me another chance..._

"Fine," he said, his voice clipped. "I'll leave you alone."

"Thank you," she responded. She watched as he ran his hand through his hair, exhaling loudly before turning and walking away. She felt bad then. It didn't last long. He had moved on, and so had she, just in a different capacity. He didn't need to know about Louis right now. She didn't need the judgment. She went back inside and was glad to see Louis hadn't heard anything. She resumed cooking and tried desperately to not think about the hurt on Booth's face when she had asked him to leave.

* * *

 **Thanks for reading! We appreciate hearing your thoughts :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**We are glad you are all still enjoying this story! Here is another chapter :)**

* * *

"Why are we here?" Louis asked. He was sitting beside her and swinging his legs, completely oblivious that he was going to be having an x-ray completed in the next few minutes.

"We are taking a picture of your leg," Brennan explained.

"Really?" Louis asked, his nose scrunched up. "Why?"

"It will show me what your bones look like," Brennan answered. "It will tell me why you have a limp."

"I can tell you that," Louis said proudly. "I fell and twisted my leg bad. Mama and Papa bound it up and told me not to leave the bed for weeks. It was a long time." Brennan felt like she was going to throw up. They didn't take him for professional medical help? Who were these people?

"That is a long time," Brennan agreed. She didn't want to alarm Louis.

"Louis Dubois?" the technician called. He caught Brennan's eye.

"That's us," she said, tugging Louis' hand. He stood up and followed hesitantly. He pulled at his hospital gown, making sure it wasn't coming loose.

"Temperance, I'm scared," Louis said fearfully, peering into the semi dark room and at the table he would be lying on. The technician headed over to his computer to get it ready. Brennan knelt down in front of Louis.

"It's okay," she reassured him. "It won't hurt you at all. It takes a picture, but it needs to be dark in order to work."

"Oh," Louis said. He still looked unsure.

"I'll be right here the whole time," Brennan said, looking to the technician for confirmation. He nodded. Louis let her take him to the bed and got him settled. She went to stand beside the technician, but she could see Louis was still scared. She felt bad for not holding his hand.

"Stay still, Louis," she instructed when she saw him wiggling anxiously. He stopped moving and squeezed his eyes shut. The technician took a few shots, and it was over within moments.

"All done," she said, going over to him. He opened his eyes.

"Really?" he asked.

"Yup! Come on," she said, helping him down. The technician held out his hand for a high five, which Louis gave him heartily.

"They'll be sent to the doctor," the technician said.

"I'm a doctor," she said. "Can I just have a peek?"

"I'm afraid I can't do that," the technician said. "I'm sorry." He moved past her and went on with his next patient. Brennan felt annoyed, but she knew they would find out tomorrow. It was just another whole day of waiting.

"Was I good?" Louis asked. "I held very still."

"You were so good," Brennan replied, beaming at him. He grinned back at her.

"Do you know why I limp now?"

"Not yet. Tomorrow," she promised. He nodded as she passed him his clothes. He dressed behind the curtain and came out looking much happier than he did going in.

* * *

"So Bones is just never coming back to work?" Booth asked Cam. They were in her office, and he had another case. "I mean come on. Jersey Shore. This stuff is her kind of thing!"

"She has requested an extension of her time off. She will be back next week," Cam promised.

"Did she tell you what's going on?"

"No, she didn't. Booth, let it go. You've got the interns and the rest of the team. They are just as good," she said.

"No they aren't," he muttered to himself. Cam raised an eyebrow at him.

"Don't you have bad guys to catch?" she asked.

"Yea, yea. I'm going," he huffed. He left feeling like something wasn't quite right, and he had no idea what it was or how to fix it.

* * *

Brennan listened to Angela's voicemail. She was complaining about Hannah hanging around and trying to be everyone's best friend. She was also saying how hard it was to keep her pregnancy a secret from everyone. Brennan chuckled to herself after she set her phone down. She couldn't wait for Angela to meet Louis. She just wanted more time with him first. She looked over at Louis who was drawing quietly. He was fascinated by crayons and pencil crayons. He had wanted to just do that all afternoon. She went to stand over him, and when she noticed his picture, it made her feel concerned. He had drawn a burning house with stick people trapped inside while two adult stick people and a baby stick person were running away.

"Louis?" she asked. He looked up at her. "What are you drawing?" He turned back to look at his drawing and took a while before answering.

"It's a nightmare I have," he finally said in a small voice.

"Are you the baby?" she asked. He nodded.

"I try and try to remember, but I can't," he told her.

"It's okay. If you were an infant, you wouldn't remember no matter how hard you tried," Brennan reassured him. "It also is just a dream, Louis. It doesn't mean it actually happened."

"Okay," he whispered. He didn't think it was just a dream, but he didn't want to make her mad at him. Bad things happened when people got mad at him. He felt bad for not telling the truth about his leg either, but his parents had sworn him to secrecy on that.

"Do you want a snack?" Brennan asked, sensing his subdued mood. He nodded again. She rubbed his back and stood to go fix him something to eat.

* * *

Booth knew that Hannah knew he hadn't been all there when he was with her. He had to give her credit for not saying anything. He was glad she was trying to bond with his coworkers. He wanted her to meet Bones, but he either couldn't get a hold of her or she told him to get out of her face. It was all so puzzling. Why had she gone away? What was she hiding?

"Seeley?"

"Huh?"

"Are you gonna be at dinner tonight?" Hannah asked.

"Oh. Yea. I'll be there," he nodded.

"Okay. I gotta go to work. Thanks for...you know," she winked at him.

"You're welcome," he said absently. This whole thing was putting a damper on his relationship with Hannah, and he knew he had to be careful or else she'd go find someone else who's head wasn't stuck thinking about another woman.

* * *

Brennan couldn't stop thinking about Louis' parents. Something didn't feel right about them, and she couldn't figure out what it was that was bothering her. He didn't speak ill of them, but he was a little guarded in his answers. His drawing was another red flag. How could he be nightmaring something so horrid? Had he seen something like that and it was stuck in his subconscious?

"I'm all done," Louis said. He had finished cleaning his teeth, which was a process he was still getting familiar with. Brennan had taken him to a dentist, and the guy almost had a heart attack over the state of Louis' teeth. He understood when she explained where Louis had been raised, and he told her they were all baby teeth still and would fall out.

"Good job!" Brennan praised when he showed her his teeth. They did look a little better than before.

"Can you read me a story?" he asked. She had picked up some books earlier that week too, and Louis loved being read to.

"Okay," she agreed. He hobbled off to his room at his quick pace, and she followed. He was all snuggled under the covers by the time she got there.

"You're fast!" she laughed. He giggled in return. He handed her a Franklin book, which he had discovered was his favorite series. She started to read, and he followed along eagerly. Brennan had been disappointed he didn't know how to read, but he was a very fast learner, and he was sounding out words with her as she read. She was confident he would do well in school. School. That was tomorrow's project. He was six after all. He needed some kind of education, and she did have to go back to work. The school year was only two weeks in. He wouldn't be too late. She had researched the best of the best, and she hoped Louis wouldn't freak out about the idea. When she was finished reading about Franklin's first day of school, she decided it was a good time to bring it up.

"Do you like the thought of school?" she asked.

"Yes!" he cried excitedly.

"Really?"

"Yes! There would be friends and learning," Louis said seriously. "I want to have friends like Franklin."

"Well, we are going to look at a school tomorrow," Brennan told him. "Does that make you anxious?"

"I get to go to school?" he asked, awed. His parents had never said anything about school to him before. It was new to him.

"If you want to," she smiled.

"I want to!" he exclaimed.

"Okay. Well, get to sleep my little bug, and we'll go tomorrow first thing," she promised.

"Okay!" Louis rolled onto his side and closed his eyes. He was so excited.

* * *

Brennan felt success. Louis had taken in everything about the classroom. They had sat with the teacher while the children were outside at recess. Louis had watched them playing, and Brennan could see the wistfulness on his face.

"He will fit in here just fine," the teacher had said, smiling. "He's not too late, and from what you're telling me, he's a fast learner."

"Oh yes," Brennan nodded. "It's remarkable." She felt a swell of pride then. Louis was thriving under her care. Who knew she could pull off this mother thing so damn well?

"Can I start tomorrow?" Louis asked eagerly.

"You'll start on Monday," Brennan said. "That's four days away." It was only Thursday.

"Do you think I'll make friends?" he asked, worried.

"Of course you will! You are very social," she told him.

"Social?"

"You get along with others well," she rephrased.

"I do," he agreed, getting it. They stopped at the doctor's next, and Brennan looked at the x-rays with him. Louis didn't understand what they were looking at, but he didn't say anything.

"So basically it broke," the doctor explained. "And it was never set properly. It healed wrong, so now he has a limp."

"Hmm," Brennan said, still looking at it. The pattern of the fracture was a little more intense than just a simple twist. She looked over at Louis, who looked a little sheepish suddenly. She'd have to talk to him later about it. The drive back to her apartment was a quite one. Louis wondered if she was gonna be mad at him for not telling the truth. He knew from her looking at the x-ray that she had figured out his lie. They walked up to her apartment holding hands. When Brennan opened her door and saw her father standing there looking bewildered, she froze, as did Louis.

"Hi, Dad," she said. Max was staring at Louis.

"Who's this?" he asked.

* * *

He had searched and searched, but he couldn't find the kid anywhere. It was aggravating. There was no way that kid got off this island on his own. He wasn't that smart. He asked around until someone told him about the orphanage. He charged over there, finding the woman at the desk to be incredibly annoying. At first she refused to tell him anything, but after a little convincing, she gave him what he wanted. So some doctor took the kid away huh? He'd see about that. He booked the first flight to the U.S. He was going to get that kid back, and nobody was gonna stand in his way.

* * *

 **And the suspense builds! Thanks for reading and reviewing! It means a lot to both of us that you take the time to do both :)**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hello all! Here's a brand new chapter from us to you. Hope you enjoy!**

* * *

"Tempe?" Max prompted. He cocked his head at his daughter's facial expression. It was difficult to read. The boy holding her hand was now trying to hide behind her legs.

"What are you doing here?" Brennan asked instead. Her mind was spinning. She wasn't ready for anyone to know about Louis yet. She didn't want all the questions and all the teasing about how she wasn't mother material. She had wanted Louis to be hers for just a little while longer from her friends and her dad, but now it was blown wide open.

"Answer mine first," Max said back. He wasn't going to let her change the subject.

"Um..." Brennan paused. She felt Louis hiding behind her. She wondered what he was thinking.

"You know I can see the boy, right?" Max asked, trying to bring some humor into the situation. He took a step closer to them.

"Yes, Dad, I'm well aware that you aren't blind and that the child hiding behind me isn't invisible," Brennan said crossly.

"I'm Louis," Louis finally piped up. He didn't know why adults took so long to get to these things. He peeked around her one leg to look at Max properly.

"Nice to meet you, Louis," Max said, kneeling down so they could see eye to eye. "I'm Max." He held out his hand, hoping Louis would come out of hiding.

"Hi, Max," Louis said shyly. He let go of Brennan's hand and cautiously went over to where Max was kneeling. He hesitated before reaching out and shaking Max's hand.

"Nice strong grip you got there," Max complimented, smiling. Louis giggled.

"Now you need to answer my question," Brennan said.

"I'm here to visit my lovely daughter because I haven't see her in a while," Max answered without looking at her. He was examining Louis. The boy appeared to be European.

"You could have called," Brennan said curtly. She moved around them and put down her purse with a loud thump on the counter.

"That spoils the fun of the surprise," Max commented. Louis ran to the living room and jumped onto the couch, grabbing one of his Hot Wheels cars and driving it over the cushions. Brennan watched with a smile on her face.

"So, who is he?" Max asked, bringing her focus back to him.

"He's Louis," Brennan answered. "Is your hearing declining? Perhaps you should have a test done..."

"My hearing is just fine," Max cut her off, waving his hand. "I mean, where did he come from? Or did I miss a time warp where you had a son and now he's what, five years old?"

"Six," Brennan corrected.

"Six then," Max went on. "So? Did I?"

"Did you what?"

"Miss six years?!"

"No, Dad," Brennan laughed finally. "I found him on Maluku Islands and brought him home."

"Do his parents know?"

"Dad!"

"Sorry. It's just strange to bring a child home with you after a trip without his parents," Max finished.

"His parents were murdered," Brennan said quietly. "He had no family left, and I couldn't bear to leave him behind alone and frightened." _Like you did to me_ , she thought.

"You're the kindest woman in the world," Max told her, smiling. "That makes me very proud."

"Thank you," Brennan nodded.

"So, you adopted him?" Max asked, confirming.

"I did."

"So...I have a grandson then?" Max beamed.

"I...yes, I suppose that's correct," Brennan agreed. Louis approached them then.

"Is Max staying here too?" he asked.

"No, he's just visiting," Brennan answered.

"I'm Temperance's father," Max explained.

"Really?!" Louis exclaimed. He never had a grandpa, not one he remembered anyway. He was hesitant to call Max his Grandpa since he wasn't ready to call Temperance his Mama yet. He didn't want to hurt her feelings. He believed he would be ready soon, just not yet.

"Yea! Come, tell me about yourself," Max said, taking Louis' hand and walking with him back to the couch. Brennan watched their interaction, and she felt her heart swell with love at the scene. Maybe her fears of people teasing her were unfounded. There was only one way to find out.

* * *

"So what did you think?" Booth asked.

"Hm?" Hannah said, looking up from unpacking her bags.

"Of the team," he prompted. Hannah had briefly interacted with them the day before, but tonight they spent more time together.

"Oh! They were lovely!" Hannah gushed. "I think we'll be great friends." She beamed at Booth then. He smiled back. She had just moved in with him, and the team had left about ten minutes ago. The only person he was missing was Brennan. He couldn't figure out her need for space. She basically told him to move on, so he did. She couldn't be mad about that, right? His mind was whirling. Was she upset about it? Should he have waited to see if she had changed her mind after being on that island for seven months? Had he jumped the gun? He pictured her face when he told her about Hannah. Had there been hurt there? Disappointment?

"Seeley?"

"Huh?"

"Do you like your gift?" Hannah asked again. Booth looked down at the old timey phone on the table.

"Yea! It's great," he smiled.

"I can't take all the credit. Angela told me that Brennan told her you always wanted one," Hannah said, wincing a little. "Is that okay that I asked?"

"It's fine," he laughed. She beamed at him.

"So when do I get to meet the famous Dr. Brennan?" Hannah questioned. Booth froze.

"Well...when she talks to me again," he answered carefully.

"She still hasn't contacted you?" she asked, surprised.

"Not really," Booth shook his head. He didn't add that he had gone to her apartment and gotten a door slammed into his face. He wasn't sure why he wasn't telling her that.

"I'm sure she will when she feels better," Hannah reassured him. Booth certainly hoped so. He stood there looking at Hannah wondering if she was the reason Brennan was avoiding him altogether.

* * *

"I like Max," Louis said as Brennan tucked him in for the night. Max had left an hour before, but Louis couldn't stop talking about him.

"That's good," Brennan smiled. "I'm glad."

"I mean I really, REALLY like him," Louis went on. "He's so funny! And he made a quarter come from behind my ear!" Louis showed her again. Brennan chuckled.

"Get some sleep, Louis," she said. "You had a big day today."

"I'm not tired," Louis said as he yawned hugely.

"Right," Brennan smiled. She knew he was exhausted. She started humming a song to him, and he started to get drowsy. Eventually, he fell asleep. Brennan sat there watching him breathe in and out, wondering how she was going to ask him about the truth of how his leg got broken.

* * *

He had gotten himself a hotel room in Las Vegas. He didn't know where to start looking, but this big city seemed like a good place to start since he heard a lot about people getting lucky here. He would search this entire country for them, and he would find them. That he was certain of. 

**Three Days Later**

"School tomorrow, school tomorrow!" Louis sang as he hopped up and down. Brennan laughed at his enthusiasm. A piece of her felt worried that he would get picked on for his limp. She still hadn't asked him about it, and she wished she could just do it and get it over with. She wasn't sure what was holding her back.

"I'm glad you're so excited about it," Brennan smiled. He grinned at her. Then he went back to drawing. Her buzzer went off then, and Brennan felt her heart jump. This was it. Louis watched as she went to answer the door.

"Hi, Ange," Brennan said, moving aside to let her in. She had decided Angela should be the next one to know about Louis, so she invited her over so they could meet.

"So what's the big surpri-oh, hello," Angela said, stopping short when she saw Louis. She looked at Brennan, confused.

"This is Louis," Brennan said, gesturing. She smiled at Angela.

"Wait, I'm confused," Angela responded. Louis smiled and waved at her. She waved back slowly.

"I adopted him. From the Maluku Islands," Brennan explained.

"Oh. Oh!" Angela exclaimed. "Oh wow! Sweetie! Why didn't you tell me sooner?!"

"I wanted to get to know him a little first," Brennan admitted.

"Hi!" Angela said, going over to Louis. "I'm Angela."

"That's a pretty name," Louis said. It melted Angela's heart a little.

"Are you drawing?" Angela asked.

"Yup! It's my favorite," Louis answered. He showed her the picture.

"Wow! You're really good!" Angela praised. "I'm an artist too." Louis looked at her quickly then.

"You are?!" he asked, excited.

"I am! Would you like to see my work sometime?"

"Yes! Can I?" Louis asked Brennan.

"Of course," Brennan laughed. She loved that Angela had immediately found a connection with Louis. She felt so happy for bringing her over. Angela spent the next couple of hours interacting with Louis and showing him different techniques for drawing. Louis picked it up very quickly, and Angela was very impressed.

"He's amazing, sweetie," Angela said to Brennan. They sat at the counter and watched Louis color. "Are you coming back to work soon? Booth is freaking out."

"Yes, tomorrow," Brennan answered. "Why is he freaking out?"

"Because you haven't been there for a while," Angela laughed. "It's comical actually."

"How are things with Hannah and him?" Brennan interrupted.

"Oh, good I guess. She moved in with him. She asked me what to get him as a gift, and I told her about the old phone. I'm sorry," Angela said apologetically.

"It's okay. Booth does love old phones. I'm glad she makes him happy," Brennan said. Inside she felt a little bitter. Trust Hannah to worm her way into her friends' circles and get info about Booth.

"I'm not a huge fan of her," Angela confessed. "I think he's being an idiot for thinking he can move on from you."

"If he's happy, then I'm happy," Brennan told her. Angela scrutinized her a little.

"Somehow I think you're lying," Angela said.

"I'm not," Brennan replied quickly. "So, I'll see you tomorrow?" She was eager for Angela to leave before any more interrogation went on.

"Yes! I'll see you then," Angela smiled. She got the hint. She left without another word.

"I love her," Louis said. "Is she your friend?"

"My best friend," Brennan told him.

"I wish I had a best friend," Louis said wistfully.

"Well, maybe you will at school," Brennan pointed out. His face brightened.

"Yes! Maybe," he said. Brennan really hoped he would make a friend. It would break her heart if nobody could see what a wonderful person Louis was. She breathed out long and slow. It made her anxious to see Booth again tomorrow. She had no idea what she was even going to say to him.

* * *

 **Will Brennan be able to ask Louis about his leg? And who is that mystery man? You'll have to keep reading to find out ;)**


	5. Chapter 5

**Thank you for the reviews! We are so glad you all are enjoying this story so much. Here is another chapter from us to you. Warning: you might experience a little bit of heartbreak at the end of the chapter.**

* * *

Brennan was trying not to worry about Louis at school. He had gone in by himself, insisting he was fine. She loved his excitement, but she still couldn't help but worry how the other children were going to treat him. Visually, he looked different. Despite the curly blond hair and green eyes, he had a European appearance to him. Then there was his limp.

"Dr. Brennan?"

"Huh?" she looked up. Cam was standing in front of her desk.

"You're back!" Cam said excitedly.

"Yes, I am," Brennan nodded.

"Good cos we have a body under concrete at a construction site," Cam told her.

"And you want me to...?" Brennan trailed off, staring at her blankly.

"Go out with Booth like you usually do and get the bad guy," Cam said encouragingly.

"No thank you," Brennan said, looking down at her paperwork in front of her.

"W-what?" Cam stammered.

"Send an intern. I feel I will be of better use here in the lab, and the intern can get more field experience," Brennan finished. Cam stared at her like she had two heads.

"B-but..."

"The answer is no, Cam," Brennan said firmly, looking at her finally. Cam could see she was serious.

"Are you and Booth-?"

"That is none of your concern," Brennan interrupted. "Now please, get the intern over there before someone destroys evidence."

"Okay," Cam bowed her head, turning to leave. Dr. Brennan didn't want to go out in the field? Something very odd was going on here.

* * *

Booth was still trying to forget what Sweets had said about flushing toilets and toothbrushes getting swarmed with fecal matter. He knew Brennan was back at work, and although she didn't show up at the Diner to meet him, he knew she couldn't resist a case like this. He looked at his watch. She wasn't usually this late.

"I'm here," Arastoo said, wiping his brow. "Sorry. I got caught in traffic." Booth stared at him. Arastoo began to set up and get ready to look at the remains. Booth was still staring at him.

"What?" Arastoo asked. "Is there something on my face?"

"You're not Bones," Booth said stupidly.

"Yes, I know," Arastoo nodded. "As flattered as I am that you'd think I would be in the first place, I must have a look at these remains."

"Bones does not send an intern out in the field. Ever," Booth added for emphasis.

"She did today," Arastoo told him, bending down to get a closer look. Booth turned away and pulled out his phone. He was getting to the bottom of this. When she didn't answer, he closed his phone slowly. Why was she doing this?

"The victim appears to be a male in his late twenties," Arastoo said over his shoulder.

"What?" Booth asked, not listening.

"Male. Late twenties. He appears to be the only body here. Are you writing this down?" Arastoo asked, accusing.

"Sure," Booth agreed, moving his pen convincingly.

"We'll need to take this two by three by four meter section to the lab," Arastoo added. "Booth?"

"Yea. Got it. Slab back to the lab," Booth confirmed. "I gotta go."

* * *

Brennan was scanning more documents when Booth came barreling into her office. His presence was overwhelming, and from his expression he was a whole lot of everything. Brennan braced herself.

"Where the hell were you?!" he demanded. "You're sending interns out in the field now? What the hell is that about?!"

"It's a great learning experience for them," she answered.

"Oho! Is it now? Cos before you ripped a strip off a poor intern for even thinking they could join you in the field. Why the change of heart?"

"I don't appreciate you questioning my teaching techniques," Brennan shot back.

"It's me, isn't it? You're mad at me!" he shouted.

"That's absurd. Why would I be mad at you?" she asked. She stayed calm. It was getting hard to do.

"I don't know! That's why I asked!" he went on. Her head was spinning. She so badly wanted to shout at him just why she was angry at him because yes, she was angry.

"Could you step back? You're spitting on me," she said instead, wiping her arm off.

"You're just gonna sit there and pretend you're not mad at me?" he asked, incredulous. She just looked at him.

"Everything all right in here?" Cam asked, peeking into the room from the doorway.

"Cam! Why is Bones not in the field?" Booth demanded.

"Because she's letting the interns have a learning experience?" Cam said, unsure.

"Fine, take her side!" Booth yelled, storming off.

"I got this," Brennan said to Cam, getting up to follow him. She caught up with him at the front steps of the building. "Booth!"

"What?!" he snarled.

"Why are you so upset that I'm not in the field?" she asked. She stood with crossed arms, waiting for his answer.

"Because! That's what we do, and you're just abandoning it..."

"I'm not abandoning it! I'm letting interns..."

"Have a learning experience. Yea, you told me already," Booth snapped. He took a step closer to her. "I don't know what's gotten into you lately, and I'm very hurt that you can't trust me enough to tell me."

"It has nothing to do with trust," Brennan replied.

"Is it Hannah? Huh? Are you mad cos I moved on?" He had to know.

"Booth, that's ridiculous."

"Is it now? Cos you got all weird after I told you about her," Booth said. "It's kind of coincidental."

"You're happy. I'm happy that you're happy. Why would that upset me?" she asked. _Because I thought you'd wait. Because I thought you were so madly in love with me. Because I realized too late that I do love you. Because I feel betrayed that you got over me so fast._ Her mind was going a million miles an hour with all the things she wanted to say, but she held them inside of her.

"You're happy I'm happy?" Booth repeated.

"Yes," she nodded.

"Really."

"Why is that so hard to believe?" she asked.

"It...it's not," he said finally. He stood there feeling guilty. Sometimes he felt like a hypocrite for telling her how in love with her he was and then falling into the arms of the next woman he saw. Maybe it was his own guilt making him think she was angry at him because of Hannah. Maybe he was angry at himself for making the choice to be with Hannah. His head hurt from all the thinking.

"Good," she said. "Can we please be civil with each other? It's causing a scene." She turned to go back inside.

"I'm sorry," he blurted out. She paused and looked back at him. He tried to convey with his eyes that his sorry was for more than just yelling at her just now. Why he couldn't just say it, he didn't know.

"Apology accepted," she said softly. Then she was gone. Booth clenched his hands and felt like he was going to be sick. He just realized that he had been kidding himself big time. He was still in love with Brennan.

* * *

Brennan picked up Louis at school, and the first words out of his mouth were:

"I made a friend!" He looked at her with big shining eyes, and her heart melted.

"You did?" she asked, getting excited for him.

"Yea!"

"Who?"

"Parker!" Louis exclaimed, bouncing up and down in his seat. "He's in grade four, but he was so nice to me! He even asked me to play with him in the yard!"

"Parker," Brennan repeated. As in Parker Booth? She glanced back at the school. Shit. Booth's son did go to this school. How did she forget that? He fit the profile, being nine years old and all.

"Can he come over sometime?" Louis asked. "Pleeaase!"

"Um...sure," she nodded. Of all the kids in the school, he had to pick Parker as his friend. Booth was gonna find out very soon about Louis, and Brennan didn't feel ready. She knew it had to happen sometime, but not immediately. When they got home, Louis was still talking about his first day at school and how his teacher was amazing and how the kids were fun and how he just loved, loved, loved the play yard! Brennan felt a little better than she had that morning. Louis was gonna be all right.

* * *

"Oh God," Hannah said, coming in and seeing the room.

"What?" Booth asked.

"You're gonna propose," she accused.

"No!"

"Um, candles, wine, dark room?" Hannah gestured. "Toothbrushes?"

"Yup."

"Are you trying to say nicely that I have bad breath?"

"No, no. Just...take the new toothbrush. We both need one. Trust me."

"Something Sweets said?" Hannah asked.

"Yea. Don't ask," Booth shuddered. They sat down and he opened the wine.

"So what's this really about then?" Hannah asked.

"Nothing. Can't I make a romantic dinner for my lady?" Booth asked. What was her problem? Why was she so terrified of a proposal? This was making a red flag go off in his mind. He wanted to ask her about this fear, but he felt it wasn't the right time. He barely listened to her as she went on about the story her editor wouldn't allow her to write. He kept thinking about Brennan and the look on her face when he said he was sorry.

* * *

"Louis?" Brennan said, coming into his room. He was all ready for bed, and she was going to say goodnight, but she had to know about his limp. She was making herself ask him.

"Yea?"

"Sweetie, I'd like you to tell me the truth about what happened to your leg," Brennan said in a rush. She saw Louis' eyes widen in fear. "I won't get mad," she went on hurriedly. "I just want to know because you can trust me. I want you to know you can trust me with anything." Louis looked at her hesitantly. Could he? He wasn't sure. He picked at the dead skin on his heel absently. He looked at her again and saw her earnest face, and he decided he could trust her.

"Okay," he agreed. She sat down next to him as he took in a deep breath. "I...I didn't listen to my mother when she told me not to play away from home. She wanted to make sure I wouldn't do it again..." He trailed off, struggling not to cry.

"Louis," Brennan said, "you can tell me." He looked at her again, his eyes wet.

"She kicked me really hard with her boot," Louis whispered. Brennan wanted to vomit. That explained the pattern on the bone. The mother must have been wearing something steel toed to do that kind of damage.

"How many times?" Brennan asked, keeping her voice controlled. Louis was crying harder now.

"Seven times," he gulped through his tears. Brennan felt an immense hatred towards his mother just then. It made her feel almost glad she had been murdered.

"It's okay," Brennan soothed, pulling him onto her lap. She rocked him back and forth. She started wondering what else had happened to this poor boy. She remembered the bruise then.

"Louis?"

"Y-yea?"

"Who hit you?"

"W-what d-do you mean?"

"The bruise on your cheek when I met you. Who gave that to you?" she asked. He sniffed hard.

"Papa," he croaked.

"Why did he hurt you?" she asked.

"I tried to run away," he answered. He looked at her mournfully. Brennan was trying not to have a conniption fit about this news. She wondered if a local had murdered his parents after seeing them abuse Louis.

"You're safe now, Louis," Brennan told him firmly. "No one will ever hurt you like that again. I promise." He nodded and buried his head into her shoulder. She gazed around his room, and her eye caught something on the nightstand. Carefully so that she wouldn't disturb him, she reached for it. Before she could look at it properly, he stirred. She tucked it into her shirt pocket quickly. When Brennan finally got him settled to sleep, she crept to the door and turned off the light, but then she heard his little voice.

"I love you, Temperance." She froze at the door, her heart feeling as though it was going to burst. She looked back at him seeing his face in the light from the doorway.

"I love you too, Louis," she said. And she did. She had never loved anyone as much as she loved this little boy right now in this moment. She shut the door quietly and went to the living room. Heart pounding, she pulled out the photograph. She saw two adults surrounding a little boy in what appeared to be a happy family photo, but Brennan couldn't see it that way, not after what she had heard. Then she looked closer. Their facial structure was all wrong. She looked harder. Definitely different from Louis. She felt her heart sink then. These people, these monsters, were not Louis' parents. Brennan felt herself start to panic. If they weren't his real parents, then could they still be out there looking for him? Had he already been adopted once? Was he a victim of a kidnapping? The questions burned her mind. One thing was for sure, she was going to need help finding this out, but she was terrified Louis was going to be taken away from her, especially after she promised he would never get hurt again. Angela. She could count on Angela. She would talk to her first thing tomorrow. Brennan knew she couldn't keep Louis a secret forever, but she was not going to let anyone take him away from her. Not on her watch.


	6. Chapter 6

Brennan tossed and turned all night. She kept having nightmares that faceless people took a screaming Louis away from her, and she couldn't find him. Tired of feeling scared and having her heart pound a million miles an hour, Brennan eventually gave up on sleep and got up. It was five in the morning and still dark. She had to talk to Angela today about finding out what happened to Louis.

* * *

"Good morning, Angela," Brennan said. She had rushed to get there after dropping Louis at school. One look at her friend indicated she had been up all night.

"Hi," Angela greeted, without turning around.

"Were you here all night?"

"If it's morning, then yes, I was."

"Is that good for the baby?" Brennan asked. She didn't think it was.

"What he doesn't know won't hurt him," Angela answered with a brief smile. "So anyway, I've been working on..."

"Ange," Brennan interrupted. Her friend stopped talking.

"Yes? What's wrong?" Angela asked, seeing trouble in Brennan's eyes.

"I need to ask you a favor," Brennan started.

"Anything," Angela promised. Brennan pulled out the photo of Louis' not so real parents and handed it to Angela, who gave her a confused look.

"This was in Louis' room," Brennan explained while Angela looked at it. "I originally thought they were his parents."

"They sure look like a family," Angela nodded.

"But they're not. The structure is all wrong. These are not his parents," Brennan finished. Angela gaped at her.

"Are you serious?"

"I don't kid with things like this. Angela, this could mean his real parents are still out there," Brennan said. She felt her throat tighten.

"Oh," Angela said, getting it. "Oh, sweetie. Oh no."

"They can take him from me, Ange," Brennan whispered. "What if they do? What am I going to do?"

"Okay, first of all, we are going to solve this little mystery," Angela said, gesturing to the photo. "I will search for his real parents. What is his last name?"

"Dubois, but that's probably their last name not his real parents'," Brennan pointed out.

"Allow me to work my magic," Angela said. "No freaking out until I find answers, okay?"

"I'll try," Brennan said reluctantly. Then an idea hit her. "Louis always draws this picture and has nightmares about a fire and guns going off from when he was really small..."

"That's brilliant!" Angela exclaimed. "I will look for old newspapers with that information. Maybe something will show up."

"Thanks, Ange. You're truly the best," Brennan said, hugging her friend tightly. Now all she had to do was not panic fully until Angela gave her an answer.

* * *

Booth was still annoyed at having Arastoo with him on this case instead of Brennan. They were currently watching dancers because Angela's amazing gizmo showed their victim in great detail, and it was discovered that he had done ballet.

"Clumsy, clumsy, clumsy!" the woman was shouting. "What are you doing? Are you new?!"

"Damn, she's nasty," Arastoo muttered. Booth silently agreed. He was not looking forward to talking to this woman. His mind was still reeling from his realization about Brennan. He'd been chastising himself all night and day. How could he be with Hannah and still in love with Brennan? What was wrong with him?!

"What do you want?" the woman snapped, finally seeing them standing there. Booth jolted into action.

"I have some questions about a former student of yours," Booth said. The woman glared.

"Who?"

"Robert Pearson?"

"I hope you've come to tell me he's dead," the woman snarled. Arastoo's eyebrows shot up into his hairline.

"And you are?" Booth asked.

"Cynthia."

"Right. Well, Cynthia, today is your lucky day."

"Why do you want him dead?" Arastoo blurted out.

"Because he broke my ankle and set my career back three years," Cynthia growled. "I hope you don't expect me to cry. People die all the time."

"Yes, but it's more suspicious when the person you want dead is murdered," Arastoo spat out.

"And you're looking at me because...?"

"Because it says here your father owns a construction company, and guess what? We found Robert at a construction site," Booth finished. _Take that dragon lady_ , he thought.

"Okay, this is getting out of control," Cynthia said, getting panicked. "I couldn't kill anyone. I didn't kill him."

"Maybe if you got really mad..." Booth trailed off.

"It was a pas de deux. He dropped me, it wasn't my fault," Cynthia stuttered.

"Given your height and weight, it would be difficult to do a pas de deux with you," Arastoo pointed out.

"Are you calling me fat?!"

"Easy now," Booth said, stepping in the middle. He mentally congratulated Arastoo for that comment. It was something Brennan would have said.

"You bastard!" Cynthia shouted through Booth as Arastoo.

"Okay, temper, temper," Booth tutted. He wanted this conversation to be over.

* * *

"Brennan," Angela said, hurrying into Brennan's office. "I found something."

"You did?" Brennan asked, jumping up.

"Yes. Look," Angela said, going to her computer and typing something in. An article came up. "Here." Brennan leaned down to read it.

 _House fire used to cover up the murder of one male and one female. Toddler presumed missing or dead. Autopsy shows the two victims, Angelique and Adrian Doukas were shot before the fire. If anyone has any information, please contact the police._

"Do you think it's his real parents?" Brennan asked in a hushed voice.

"You tell me," Angela said, scrolling down so that the images of the victims came up. Brennan stared at them.

"That's them," she whispered. She could see Louis' features in both the male and female. Adrian was definitely Greek, and Angelique had a French appearance. Louis' green eyes sprang up at her from Adrian. The dirty blonde hair came from Angelique along with her nose. These were definitely his parents. Where did a woman from Paris meet a man from Greece? A holiday? By chance? Was it love at first sight?

"How horrible," Angela said quietly, cutting into her thoughts.

"He remembers this," Brennan told her.

"What do you mean?"

"He keeps telling me of a nightmare where there are guns going off and a fire. He draws pictures of a small child and two adults leaving a burning building," Brennan went on. "What year did this happen?"

"2006," Angela answered.

"So Louis was two years old," Brennan mused. "He said possibly after he turned three, they left Paris and went to Maluku."

"If his 'parents' kidnapped him, they'd probably flee the country to avoid suspicion," Angela pointed out.

"So it proves that Louis really is an orphan," Brennan said. "I'm trying not to feel relieved about that since the circumstances are so horrid."

"It means he's yours, and that's something worth being relieved about," Angela assured her. "But I understand what you mean."

"So who murdered the kidnappers?" Brennan asked.

"I don't know," Angela admitted.

"I know you wouldn't have the answer," Brennan said logically. "But this proves that Dubois was the kidnappers' last names."

"Yes, it does. I'll start researching," Angela said.

"What's going on?" Cam asked, taking a sip from her water bottle.

"We are trying to locate records of the people who kidnapped my adopted son, Louis," Brennan answered. Cam spewed water everywhere.

"W-what?!" she exclaimed. She looked back and forth between Angela and Brennan. "What did you just say?"

"I adopted a boy from Maluku," Brennan started explaining. "Louis. He's six. His parents were murdered, and Daisy and I came across their bodies. I found Louis hiding in the brush. I went back for him because he has no one. I have just discovered that the parents are not really his parents but kidnappers, and Louis' real parents were murdered as well."

"I feel like I'm in a soap opera," Cam muttered. "Wow, so you have a son?"

"Yes, I do. That's why I took so much time off," Brennan nodded.

"Makes sense," Cam agreed. Arastoo was outside talking to Hodgins now, so Brennan acted fast.

"I would like to talk to you sometime about being an adoptive parent since you have knowledge and experience with Michelle," Brennan stated.

"O-okay," Cam consented. She didn't have time for any other comments or questions before Arastoo came in.

"What do you have for us?" Brennan asked Arastoo as he entered. He proceeded to explain what he and Booth had discovered. Brennan looked over at the door and noticed that Booth was standing there, keeping his distance. Then his phone rang. She watched as he went to answer it, how his face turned from business to fear, and she knew it wasn't good.

"What's wrong?" she asked when he returned.

"I gotta go. Hannah's been shot."

* * *

Against every bone in her body, Brennan found herself at the hospital where Booth was pacing the hall. Despite their awkwardness and tension lately, she still was his friend.

"Bones," he said, stopping in his tracks. He didn't expect to see her.

"Is she okay?" Brennan asked. She did not want to see Hannah. She just came to make sure Booth was all right.

"Yea. They're gonna send her home in the morning. Just a nick on the bone," Booth told her.

"May I see the x-ray?" she asked.

"Uh, sure," he nodded. "Did you want to-?"

"No thanks," Brennan cut him off. She did not want to see Hannah. Nodding, he went to go get it. She took it from him when he returned. She noticed right away that it was a hairline avulsion fracture of the femur. This was not just a "nick" on the bone. Hannah could bleed out and die from this within moments. Brennan struggled internally for a moment. In the end, she did the right thing.

"Booth, this is a hairline avulsion fracture on the femur," she said.

"A what now on the where?" Booth asked.

"If she stresses the leg incorrectly, the pulled ligament or tendon will get cut by the bone, and she would bleed out instantly without getting help."

"Oh. Wow. Okay. That's bad?"

"Very bad, Booth," she said. "Tell the surgeon. They should operate right away." She thrust the x-ray back towards him, and he took it.

"You just saved her life," Booth said. Brennan looked at him. That she had. He held her gaze for a moment longer.

"I have to go," she said softly. She turned to leave, not looking back. She didn't have to. She knew he'd be watching.

* * *

Louis didn't say much on the car ride home. He didn't have much to say. He didn't want to upset Temperance. Other kids had started making fun of his limp today. One even mimicked him all recess. Another stole his cookies from his lunch. Another knocked his bag out of his hands in the hallway. Louis had Parker as protection from worse bullying, but it still upset him. He hadn't realized that kids could be as mean as adults.

"Everything okay, Louis?" Brennan asked. She looked in the rearview mirror. She hadn't said much either. She was still thinking about how she had been capable of even thinking of not saving Hannah. What was that about? Brennan was not a bad person.

"I'm just tired," Louis answered. He didn't want to make Temperance sad. He would figure out what to do on his own. He closed his eyes to prove his point. Once home, he went into his room and fell onto his bed. He was also sad because he had lost the only picture of his parents that he had. He couldn't figure out where it went. It was hard to remember their faces without looking at it. He hoped he'd find it soon.

* * *

"Temperance?"

"Yes? Who is this?"

"It's Hannah."

"Oh. Hello."

"I just wanted to say thank you for saving my life."

"You're welcome."

"Did you want to stop by? Say hi?"

"No. I'm very busy."

"Oh, okay."

"Is that all?"

"Well, yea. I'll see you later I guess."

"Good-bye."

Brennan hung up sharply. Did Hannah really think they were going to be friends just because she saved her life?

 **Two Days Later**

"Parker has made a new little friend apparently," Booth was saying to Hannah. She was back home with a cast on her leg now. She had wanted to thank Brennan personally for saving her life, but when she called, Brennan had been short and almost cold. Hannah wasn't sure why.

"Oh yea?" Hannah asked, feigning interest. She hadn't met Parker yet, but Booth talked about him a lot. Almost too much. It was annoying.

"Yea. He has a playdate this afternoon that I'm taking him to," Booth said. It was Saturday, and Rebecca was letting him have Parker for once.

"Sounds nice," Hannah responded. Booth wondered why she didn't ask to come along. Did she not want to meet Parker?

"I'll be back in a bit," Booth said. He was curious about this Louis that Parker kept talking about while on the phone with him. They were supposed to meet at the park. Parker chatted away about Louis this and Louis that. Booth barely paid attention. He couldn't believe his eyes when he showed up at the park. Brennan was sitting on a bench, watching children play. What was she doing here? Parker jumped out of the car and raced to the playground. Booth presumed the curly haired boy he was talking to was Louis. He wandered over to the bench and sat down beside Brennan.

"Hey," he said.

"Hi," she said, looking at him.

"What are you doing here?" he asked.

"How's Hannah?" she asked at the same time.

"Oh, good. She said thank you, by the way," Booth said.

"I know. She called me," Brennan nodded. There was a moment of silence.

"You didn't answer my question," Booth said. Just then, both Parker and the boy ran up to them.

"Temperance!" the boy called. "This is Parker!" Booth gaped at Brennan. What was going on here?

"I know, Louis. I'm friends with his father," Brennan smiled. Louis' face lit up.

"Cool!" he shouted.

"Yea, Bones is so cool!" Parker added.

"Bones?" Louis asked.

"It's Dad's nickname for her," Parker explained.

"Oh, cos you look at bones, right?" Louis asked her.

"That's right," Brennan confirmed.

"Cool! We're gonna be over there," Louis told her. He hugged her tightly before running off. Booth's mouth was still wide open.

"What?" Brennan asked, noticing.

"What the hell was that?" he demanded. "Who is that kid? Are you babysitting or something?"

"No, Booth. That's Louis. I adopted him," she answered.

"You...what?!"

"I adopted him from Maluku where he had been left orphaned by the death of his parents," she explained. She would tell him the rest later. She could tell his head was going to explode at the idea of her being a mother without adding that to it.

"You...you...I...my head hurts," Booth said on cue, holding it with his hands. "You adopted a son without telling me?"

"I didn't think I needed your permission," Brennan snorted. "We're not married."

"We're barely friends it seems," Booth pointed out. "How could you not tell me?"

"I didn't tell anyone until recently."

"Bones, I..."

"You're surprised I know. Contrary to what people say about me, I'm not a cold-hearted person, Booth. I am capable of being a loving mother," Brennan said.

"I know...I mean, of course. I just...I didn't realize you would adopt," Booth finished.

"Well, I did," Brennan confirmed. They stared at one another.

"Good for you," he said finally.

"Temperance! Come play!" Louis called, making Brennan look away from Booth.

"Excuse me," Brennan said, getting up. She ran over to the boys and started playing freeze tag with them. Booth watched in awe at her interactions with Louis. The love between the two of them was quite evident, and Brennan's face was brighter and happier than he'd seen in a long time. He had never seen Brennan in this type of scenario before aside from different time with Parker, but even that was different. Booth felt a twinge inside as he watched Brennan laugh with Louis and tickle him and chase him around the grass. Hannah hadn't even wanted to come meet Parker. Booth started feeling turmoil again. He had no idea what was going to happen next.

* * *

He knew the "Missing Child" ads would come out soon. He knew that if that doctor was hiding somewhere with the boy, she would be flushed out very soon. She couldn't stay hidden forever. Then he'd finally get to finish what he started.

* * *

 **Thanks for reading!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Thank you all again so much for the reviews! We truly appreciate it :) Happy reading!**

* * *

"Watch it, Frenchie," the boy snarled, shoving Louis aside and knocking him over. Louis landed on his hands and knees, and he struggled hard not to cry. Why were some kids so mean? He didn't understand.

"Come on," Parker said, pulling him up. "Don't pay attention to him."

"Why does he not like me?" Louis asked, brushing the sand off his pants. He didn't want any evidence for Temperance to find, and he knew she was excellent at that.

"He's a bully," Parker shrugged. "Toby is mean to everyone." Louis and Parker both watched as Toby knocked books out of a girl's hand and laughed while walking away. Louis shuddered. Ever since he'd proudly shared he was born in Paris, Toby had started calling him "Frenchie," and he didn't like it.

"I have an idea," Parker said.

* * *

Brennan was beside Daisy looking at remains of a murder victim found with remains of a slave ship. She found herself annoyed at Daisy's rambling about why she and Sweets weren't actually dating. When asked how her pants fell off from trying to return a book, Daisy had no comeback, so Brennan dropped it. Why Daisy had even brought it up, Brennan had no idea. She guessed Daisy thought they were closer now that they had survived things on Maluku and rescued Louis together. Brennan had noticed that Cam was unusually quiet since they had been working on this case. Brennan felt badly for her. She examined the body x rays, trying to get her mind off of Cam and Louis. She was worried about him as he was quiet that morning going to school.

"Chipping from the zygomatic arch. Hairline fractures to the mental foramen. All heavily remodeled. Metaphyseal fractures to the left tibia and right ulna, never properly set," Daisy finished, peering at them. Brennan felt her stomach lurch.

"I've seen these before," she said. "It happens when a person has had their extremities wrenched over and over again at a very young age." She couldn't help it. She thought about Louis. How could anyone hurt someone so defenseless repeatedly like that?

"Suggestive of child abuse?" Daisy confirmed, looking at her. Brennan nodded.

"We have to identify him," she replied. She had to. For Louis. For every other child victim of abuse whose story was never told. _Like Booth_. She shook this out of her mind. "What is taking Dr. Hodgins so long?"

* * *

Booth was at his desk feeling out of sorts. He couldn't get the image of Brennan and Louis out of his head. He also couldn't stop thinking about Hannah's reaction when he had talked about Brennan and Louis. It almost looked like annoyance.

"I'm weak, I'm weak," Sweets was yammering in the background. Something about Daisy. "I broke up with her, but I can't keep my hands off her. What should I do? Should I just let it happen?" Booth stared at him finally.

"Here," he said, handing him a magic 8 ball. Sweets shook it.

"'Yes definitely,'" he read. "Really?"

"I don't know," Booth groaned.

"You're older, wiser, more experienced," Sweets went on. "I thought you could help me."

"I'm not freaking Yoda," Booth answered. Sweets furrowed his brow at that. As if summoned, Daisy popped her little head into Booth's office.

"Hi!" she said happily. Booth wanted to shoot himself.

"Hi," Sweets said nervously. Daisy walked past him to Booth.

"Have you got anything for me?" she asked. Booth gave her an annoyed look. He reached for the papers and handed them to her. She flipped through them slowly. Sweets was still standing there awkwardly.

"Mike Casper," she said after a moment.

"Yup. Married with a kid and a dog in Calvert County with a cushy aerospace job," Booth told her.

"No. He's 19, 21 at the oldest," Daisy argued.

"He's 28. So you're off by seven years," Booth started.

"This is wrong," Daisy interrupted.

"No, I think you're wrong," Booth countered.

"Dr. Brennan did this, not me. She is never wrong," Daisy said pointedly. She gave him a look.

"Well, it matches Angela's drawing, so I'm sorry, but Bones is wrong," Booth said. Daisy huffed. Booth stood to go find the wife and give her the bad news. Daisy followed him.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"Dr. Brennan advised I would be doing the fieldwork with you," she answered, confused. Booth sighed loudly. So she was still avoiding him. Great.

* * *

It was the perfect plan. Louis and Parker worked carefully to make it happen. Now they were waiting.

"Do you always have balloons on you?" Louis asked, curious. Parker smirked. Their prank was paint filled balloons that they were going to hurl at Toby and his gang in the playground. They were purposely separated from everyone else so that they'd get targeted faster. Louis had the bag with the balloons looped around his neck. He felt anxious and gleeful at the same time.

"Here he comes," Parker whispered. They acted casual.

"Well if it isn't Dork 1 and Dork 2," Toby sneered, closing in on them.

"I believe it's Thing 1 and Thing 2," Louis corrected. Parker nudged him.

"Not now," he hissed.

"Sorry," Louis whispered back. Temperance's way of correcting people was starting to rub off on him.

"Well, what are you and the Goon Squad gonna do about it?" Parker challenged. Toby guffawed. He cracked his knuckles.

"I'm gonna enjoy this," he sneered. They moved in.

"Now!" Louis shouted. He and Parker started whipping balloons at them. Paint was flying everywhere. The bullies were shouting in anger. Then the worst thing of all that could happen happened.

"What is going on he-oh!" the teacher on duty cried, the balloon crashing into her nice blouse and leaving an ugly red stain. She stared at it. Parker and Louis froze. Their intention hadn't been to hit a teacher. They were in for it now. She leveled her stare at all of them.

"Principal's office. Now," she said sternly.

* * *

Booth and Sweets were watching Liam talk on _Thursday's Child_. Booth felt sad watching it. He looked over at Sweets. He knew he had been a foster child too, so he wondered if this was upsetting him. When it was over, Booth couldn't help it.

"That sounded like little puppy adoptions if you ask me."

"Well, when I was in foster care," Sweets started. "Every child who got on _Thursday's Child_ won the lottery. I mean, big fancy cars would come and adopt them every time." Booth felt there was a hint of jealousy there.

"Well, Liam didn't," Booth pointed out. "It would have saved the juvie system a lot of time if he had. Here's records of a break and enter Liam did with another foster kid, Hunter Lang. We're trying to find him now." He handed the papers to Sweets.

"Why's that?" Sweets asked, glancing at the papers.

"Cos Liam testified against Hunter for a suspended sentence," Booth answered.

"Oohh not good. Foster kids stick together," Sweets winced.

"Is that something a guy would kill over?" Booth asked him.

"I don't know. I know these kids, though. I'll talk to him," Sweets answered.

* * *

Brennan was standing over Hodgins when her phone rang. She answered it hastily after seeing it was the school.

"Hello?"

"Dr. Brennan? We need you to come by the school."

* * *

Booth, Daisy and Sweets were standing in front of the cruise ship when his phone rang.

"Hang on," Booth said to them. "Booth."

"Mr. Booth? We need you to come by the school."

"Okay. I'll be right there," Booth answered. He hung up. "You two," he pointed, "are on your own."

"Wait, what?!" Sweets cried. Daisy hid her smirk as the cougar woman pulled Sweets aboard.

* * *

Booth and Brennan arrived at the public school at the same time.

"What are you doing here?" they asked each other at the same time.

"You first," Booth said.

"Louis is in trouble," she answered.

"So is Parker," Booth sighed. They went into the Principal's office together where they found a sad, sorry looking Louis and Parker sitting side by side.

"What did you do?" Booth asked.

"Oh, good. You're here together," the secretary said. "Go right on in." Brennan gave Louis a glance before following Booth inside. They sat down across from the principal.

"What's happened?" she asked.

"It seems Louis and Parker decided to fill balloons with paint and throw them at other students," the principal answered. Booth looked at the guy's nameplate. Raymond Tucker.

"What?!" Brennan exclaimed.

"Really," Booth said. Why did this not surprise him? "Where did they get the paint?"

"Smuggled it from the art class," Raymond answered.

"I see," Booth nodded.

"In their 'battle,' they struck a teacher with a balloon, ruining her, and I quote, '123 dollar blouse,'" Raymond said, shuddering.

"Who wears a 123 dollar shirt to a public school?" Booth asked, incredulous.

"Louis couldn't have done that. He's a good boy," Brennan argued. Raymond gave her a level stare.

"The paint is on their hands, Dr. Brennan. Both of theirs. This was a team effort."

"Look, I'm sorry. There has to be an explanation for this," Booth interrupted. "Parker doesn't just attack other kids for no reason."

"He shouldn't at all," Raymond lectured. Booth glowered.

"What did they say?" Brennan cut in before they could start snarling at each other.

"Louis didn't say anything. Parker claimed Toby and his friends were bullying them by calling them names and shoving them around. Mostly Louis." Brennan felt her temper flare. Louis was being bullied?! Why didn't he say anything?

"I see," Booth said.

"What is their punishment?" Brennan asked, knowing it was coming.

"Louis is to clean the blackboards after school. Parker is to assist the teacher he hit by doing assigned work to pay off the shirt," Raymond answered.

"Why isn't Louis helping to pay off the shirt?" Brennan asked.

"Because it was Parker who hit her. That was witnessed," Raymond answered.

"Seems like a fair punishment," Booth nodded. "I'll talk to him, sir. This won't happen again."

"What is the punishment of the bullies?" Brennan asked.

"I will look into the bullying," Raymond promised. "We have zero tolerance for that."

"Good. Thank you," Brennan said. She and Booth stood to leave. Louis gave her a mournful look when they went back out.

"Come on," Booth said to Parker, who stood up.

"I'm sorry, Dad," Parker said sadly.

"Well, buddy, there are other ways to deal with bullies," Booth told him. He patted Parker's head as they went out into the hall.

"Are you mad at me?" Louis asked Brennan. She gave him a small smile.

"Not mad, just disappointed," she answered. "Why did you feel you couldn't tell me what was happening?"

"I didn't want you to worry," Louis said. "I didn't want you to take me away from this school."

"I wouldn't have," she told him. "I just would have helped you."

"Oh," Louis said sadly. He hung his head.

"Come on," she said, taking his hand in hers. "Let's go home."

* * *

Hannah was scrolling through the news feed when she saw it.

 _"Missing boy. Name: Goes by Louis. Age: 6 years old. Hair color..."_

Hannah read the description and felt like there was something familiar about it. She leaned back in her chair. Hadn't Booth gone on and on about Brennan's new adopted child? Whose name was also Louis? Hannah felt her skin tingle. Had Brennan stolen a child? She scrolled down until she found the contact name. Jerry Pasquel. She hesitated for a moment before printing off the poster. She needed to make certain it was the right child before getting this man excited. She grabbed her keys and headed out of the office. She didn't care if Booth got angry at her for doing this. If Brennan stole a child, justice needed to be served.


	8. Chapter 8

Hannah waited for Booth to come home. She decided to ask him some questions first before jumping into action. Maybe she could get some answers.

"Hi," she said, leaning over to kiss him.

"Hi," he replied. He had just dropped Parker off, and Rebecca was going to give him her own punishment for what he'd done. Booth stayed out of it. He knew his son was sorry.

"How was your day?"

"Aside from my son pulling a prank and getting in trouble, it was all right," Booth answered.

"Oh no! What happened?" she asked. He filled her in, and the corners of her mouth twitched into a smile.

"How was your day?" Booth countered. He set down his gun, phone and wallet in their designated places.

"Oh, it was good. Busy. I want to get back to Parker and Louis, though," Hannah said, trying to be discreet. "Where did Temperance find Louis?"

"I don't really know," Booth answered honestly.

"She just suddenly has a kid, and you don't know how or why?" Hannah laughed.

"No. We haven't really been talking."

"Oh," Hannah said, surprised. She looked at Booth curiously. Why not?

"Yea. She's been busy. Why the interest in Louis suddenly?"

"I just am curious is all," Hannah smiled, turning her palms upward and shrugging.

"All I know is she adopted him. That's it," Booth told her, kissing the top of her head and going to go shower. Hannah drummed her fingers on the kitchen counter after he was gone. She was thinking.

* * *

Brennan spent most of the evening trying to reassure Louis that she still loved him. He was acting like he was waiting for a physical punishment, which Brennan reassured him she did not do. There were other ways of discipline that were more effective. Like cleaning. She showed him how to sweep the floor and wipe the counters as well as do dishes. Louis was eager to learn it all, and it made Brennan laugh when he kept looking at her for reassurance that he was doing a good job before continuing on with gusto. She was finishing making him a snack when there was a knock on the door. Louis watched her go answer it.

"Booth," she said when she saw it was him.

"Hi," he replied. "I saw your light..."

"And you thought to yourself that I must be dying for company," she finished, smirking. He gave a half grin.

"Well, of course," he nodded.

"Come in," she said, opening the door wider. Booth felt a little bit of surprise that she was letting him inside. He had expected her to send him away again.

"Hey, bud," Booth said to Louis, who examined him carefully.

"It's all right," Brennan laughed. "He's a friend."

"Hi," Louis replied finally. Booth felt the sting of the word "friend." He thought they were a little more than that. He stood there feeling awkward suddenly. Brennan finished with the snack and set it down for Louis to take. He munched happily while _Finding Nemo_ was on in the background.

"How's Hannah?" Brennan asked, busying herself with cleaning up so as not to look at Booth while he answered. She hated seeing his face when he talked about her.

"She's...fine," he answered. He willed Brennan to look at him, to see that he was in pain that their friendship was so strained. He wanted to make it up to her, make her see that he still cared about her.

"Good."

"I miss you," he blurted out, making her look at him.

"I'm right here," she said jokingly.

"I miss working with you, having you in the field. I gotta say, I give you a lot of credit for working with the interns, but I can't do it much longer. I want you back, Bones. We're a team."

"I'm not ready," she said quietly.

"Will you ever be?" he asked. They were looking at each other so intently that they didn't notice Louis in the background. He was clutching his stomach, and then he started coughing violently. Brennan whipped her head around to see him, and he vomited.

"Whoa," Booth said, unsure of what just happened.

"Louis?" Brennan asked, moving to him. His breath became wheezing, and she started to panic. "Louis!" She took him by the shoulders, trying to see what was wrong.

"Can't..." Louis tried. He gasped for air. His wheezing was getting worse.

"Booth!" Brennan shouted, looking at him wildly. He went over in two strides and picked Louis up.

"He's having a reaction to something," Booth said.

"What? No. He couldn't have," Brennan said quickly.

"No time to argue, Bones," Booth said. He went out the door with Louis in his arms while Brennan raced behind him. She was very thankful she lived close to the hospital. Booth had his lights flashing with his foot on the floor while Brennan clutched Louis to her.

"Breathe, Louis," she urged. "Please keep breathing."

"Scared," Louis croaked out between wheezes.

"It'll be all right. We're almost there," Brennan reassured him. She was terrified. She willed Booth to run the red light, and he did. They came skidding to a stop in front of the hospital, and Brennan tried to lift Louis, but he was too heavy.

"I got him," Booth said, suddenly there beside her. He swept Louis out easily, and they both ran inside. Within moments they were standing in front of the nurse's desk.

"My son is having an allergic reaction," Brennan verbally spewed at her. "Get him help NOW!"

"Calm down," the nurse started. Then she saw Louis, who now was covered in a bright rash. She stood up very fast, knocking her chair over. "Over here!" She gestured, and Booth came around with Louis. He was immediately swarmed by nurses and a doctor.

"What's happening?" Brennan cried, clutching Booth's arm.

"They're fixing him up," Booth reassured her. Brennan tore away from him when they started wheeling Louis away. Booth followed quickly.

"Where are you taking him?" she asked. She was ignored. She couldn't make out what they were shouting.

"What did you give him?" a nurse finally asked after discovering who she was.

"Peanut butter," she replied.

"Is this his first time having it?"

"I...I guess it is," she answered. "I adopted him. I'm not sure..."

"Thank you," the nurse cut her off before disappearing.

"Wait!"

"Bones, they'll fix him up," Booth promised. He went to touch her shoulder when she turned and flung herself into his arms. Surprised, he didn't know what to do at first before his natural response to hug her kicked in. He held her while she cried.

* * *

"Temperance Brennan?"

Brennan looked up to see the doctor standing in front of her. After crying herself out, she sat on one of the chairs alongside the wall.

"Yes?"

"Louis is just fine," he smiled. "I was surprised that this was his first time exposed to peanut butter though."

"He lived in a foreign island for years. I doubt they fed him anything like that," Brennan answered. "His former parents."

"I see. Well, we're going to keep him overnight to make sure he doesn't have another episode since this one was so strong. You can take him home in the morning."

"Okay. Thank you."

"See?" Booth said when the doctor left. "Everything's all right."

"But it shouldn't have been not all right at all," Brennan argued.

"You couldn't have known that he was allergic to peanut butter," Booth pointed out.

"I'm his mother! I'm supposed to know everything..."

"Not when you haven't had him from birth," Booth said. "Bones, it's okay..."

"It's not okay," she said firmly, getting up to go see Louis. He looked at her with his big eyes when she came in.

"I'm sorry," he whispered.

"No, no," Brennan said. "I'm sorry. I didn't know, sweetie. I wouldn't have given it to you if I'd known you were allergic."

"It tasted so good though," Louis sighed.

"I'm sorry."

"Can I go home?"

"In the morning. They want to make sure you don't have another episode since this one was so severe."

"Oh. Okay."

"I'll be right here. All night. Okay?"

"Okay."

"I love you," Brennan said, kissing his cheek and smoothing his hair.

"I love you too, Mama," Louis said drowsily. Brennan felt her heart soar. This was the first time he'd called her Mama. It felt very good. She settled into the chair beside him while Louis fell asleep.

"Safe to come in?" Booth asked.

"Yes," she answered. He sat in the chair next to her.

"He okay?"

"Yea. I still feel bad."

"Bones..."

"I know," she cut him off. She took his hand in hers. "Thanks for coming and staying."

"It's what I do," he bowed his head.

"Will Hannah miss you?"

"She will survive," he answered.

"Are you two fighting?"

"Nope."

"Seems like you're mad at her."

"Not mad. I haven't seen her much lately because of work."

"So you do miss her."

"Of course."

Brennan felt a twist in her gut. Booth watched her out of the corner of his eye. He noticed her reaction every time he mentioned Hannah. He wished he could tell her that he felt distant from Hannah because he couldn't stop thinking about her.

"You don't have to stay all night," she said.

"Can I just talk to you for a while before I go?" he asked.

"About what?"

"Anything," he replied. "Anything at all."

"All right," she agreed. So they talked. And talked. And talked some more. Soon it was after midnight, and they were still talking. Brennan was looking at Booth and realizing just how much she missed him after all.

"I should go," he said after a moment of silence.

"Okay."

"I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Probably not. I'll keep him home I think," she answered. He nodded knowingly.

"Well, call if you need me," he said.

"I will," she nodded. She felt sad to see him leave. He gave a small smile and wave at the door before disappearing. She wished he had stayed.

* * *

"You're home late," Hannah said blearily from the bed as Booth got in to join her.

"Louis had an allergic reaction, so I took him to the hospital with Bones," he answered. He felt her stiffen. "What?"

"Seeley, I think Temperance kidnapped that child," she said.

"What? That's ridiculous," Booth laughed.

"I'm serious. How else does she just 'suddenly' have a kid? Don't you find that odd?" she pressed.

"Bones is not a kidnapper," Booth said firmly.

"Seeley! Are you blind? Or are you just too in love with her to realize the truth?" Hannah snapped.

"I'm not," he said roughly.

"Not what? Blind or in love?"

"Both! I'm not blind, and I do not love Bones," he lied. They stared at each other. Hannah knew he was lying. Fine. If he wasn't going to help, then she was doing this alone.

"Good night, Seeley," she said coldly. She turned away. Booth gaped at her back. What was happening to this woman? He was starting to feel that he had definitely made the wrong choice by bringing her into his life here.

* * *

 **The Next Day**

Hannah paced a little before knocking. She didn't know what to expect. Finally, she gave in.

"Oh, it's you," Brennan said, seeing her.

"Hi," Hannah smiled. "I heard what happened. I brought a little something." In her hands she held a "Get Well" balloon and some kind of Lego kit.

"That's...nice of you," Brennan answered, feeling her hackles rise. Why was Hannah here? What did she really want?

"Can I come in?" Hannah asked. Brennan hesitated before moving aside. Hannah set the present down on the counter. "Is he okay?"

"He's fine. Just tired."

"That's good. I was just talking to Booth about how you became a mom almost overnight," Hannah laughed. "What happened? Where did you find him?" Brennan immediately felt suspicious. Why was Hannah so interested?

"He was an orphan on Maluku, so I adopted him," she answered, leaving out the whole dead kidnapper parents part.

"Oh that's so sad," Hannah said, putting her hands on her chest. "He really had nobody?"

"What do you want, Hannah?" Brennan cut her off sharply. Hannah looked taken aback.

"I'm just curious where Louis came from, that's all," she replied.

"Now you know. Can you please leave now? You're upsetting my son," Brennan said. Hannah looked around.

"He's not out here..."

"I can feel his anxiousness coming from his bedroom. When you're a mother, you know these things," Brennan interrupted.

"Okay," Hannah said, holding up her hands. She went out the front door. When it closed behind her, Hannah knew for sure that Brennan had done something she shouldn't have by taking Louis. She pulled out the paper and dialed the number as she went down the stairs.

"Hi, Jerry? Yes, my name is Hannah Burley. I'm a journalist. I came across your missing child ad. I think I found him."

* * *

"Hey, Bones," Booth said. He held the phone tightly to his ear. "How's he doing?"

"Better. He is up to eating, so we're just having lunch," Brennan answered. "I got rid of anything with peanut butter."

"Did the doctor give him an epi pen?"

"Yes. I've showed Louis how to use it, and he is quite excited to carry around the case it comes in. He likes Superman apparently."

"What little boy doesn't?" Booth chuckled.

"Hannah was here," Brennan said suddenly. Booth felt his stomach drop. Why had she gone there?

"Oh?"

"Yes. She left a present for Louis, but she asked a lot of questions as to where Louis came from," Brennan answered.

"She's just curious," Booth tried.

"I think she thinks I kidnapped this child. Booth, I did not do that," she said strongly.

 _Are you blind? Or are you just too in love with her to realize the truth?_

"I know, Bones. I know that. You're not that kind of person," he added, shoving Hannah's words out of his mind.

"Then tell her that," she said abruptly. "I have to go. Louis needs me."

"Okay. I'll talk to her, Bones," Booth said before hanging up. He stared at the phone after. What was Hannah up to?

* * *

"That's him," Jerry said immediately after Hannah described him. "That's my nephew!"

"I'm so sorry this whole thing happened," Hannah said empathetically. They were at the office in a private room.

"I just want him back," Jerry said. He sat at the table looking as desolate as he could. This dumb blonde was even dumber than he thought to buy into this crap.

"I'll get the police involved," Hannah promised. "You'll get him back within the day."

"No," Jerry said suddenly, standing up. "No police."

"But..."

"No, just take me to him."

"That's not how it works..."

"Take. Me. To. Him," Jerry spelled out. Hannah began to feel a little scared. She stood there looking at this man, and suddenly, she didn't have a very good feeling about him.

"There are procedures we have to follow..." she tried again. Jerry banged his fist on the table so hard she jumped. He came around to her until she was backed against the wall. She wondered if anyone outside the room could hear them.

"Look, bitch," Jerry said, putting his hand around her throat and squeezing it tight until Hannah choked. "That's my nephew, and he's rightfully mine. I don't need no damn cops to get involved. I will go get my nephew and be on my way." Hannah shook her head to argue. He tightened his grip, making her squeak.

"Actually, I have a better idea," he said, sneering. "You're gonna get the boy for me. I don't care how you do it, just get it done. Or else your little sister and her beautiful family will never be seen again." Hannah's eyes widened at this. "Oh, yes. I did my homework on you. You should know better than to give a stranger your last name over the phone." Jerry laughed cruelly. He thumped her head against the wall to make his point. When Hannah nodded vigorously, he released her.

"You have 48 hours. Call me when you have the boy, and don't try anything funny. I'm watching you," Jerry warned. "One word to the authorities, and your sister and her family bite the dust."

"Okay," Hannah croaked. Then he was gone. She slid to the floor, holding her throat. She started to cry. How had this happened? She had been only trying to do the right thing, and now the right thing was going to hurt so many people. She wanted to tell Booth, but she thought of Jerry's threat. She just couldn't take the risk. How was she going to get Louis, though? And how was she going to try to save him after Jerry had him? Her head was spinning. She needed to make a plan and fast.

* * *

 **We hope you're still enjoying this story! Thanks for reading. (If you're skeptical about allergic reactions, research it as I learned some interesting things myself!)  
**


	9. Chapter 9

"Are you all right?"

The question rang into the silence, and Hannah didn't know how to respond. Booth was looking at her expectantly.

"I'm fine," she answered, setting her bag down. She touched the scarf around her neck absently. Jerry's fingers had left noticeable marks. She had been anxiously writing her sister all afternoon, and she was very relieved to get a response from her. Hannah didn't trust that Jerry wouldn't hurt her, so she tried to advise her sister to take a vacation. Her sister, however, was a very stubborn human being and told her to get her head checked, that she couldn't just take her family and up and leave like that. Frustrated, Hannah let it go for now. She was trying to get a hold of her uncle, but he wasn't responding. She didn't want to contact police in case Jerry really did have a mole in there. She noticed suddenly that Booth was talking.

"I'm sorry, what?" she interrupted.

"I said I'm taking Parker to hang out with Louis tomorrow at the park," Booth repeated. "Wanna come?"

"I'd love to," she said instantly. How lucky was that?! She could tell Jerry, and Booth would be there to stop him. It couldn't be more perfect.

"Great," Booth smiled, leaning in to give her a kiss. He went to go shower, and Hannah stood there with her mind going a million miles an hour.

* * *

 **The Next Day**

"Mama?" Louis said from the backseat. Brennan never tired of hearing him say that. Ever since the allergy scare, he'd taken to calling her that instead of Temperance.

"Yes?"

"Will you be at the park today after school?"

"I have to work, sweetie," Brennan answered. "I'm sorry. You like Booth, though, right?"

"Yea," Louis agreed. Booth had scared him a little at first. He knew that Brennan had no idea he'd heard Booth shouting at her a while back at the door. Louis didn't like shouting, and he associated yelling with angry, bad people. Almost like his parents.

"Good. You have a great day, okay? I'll see you before supper," Brennan promised.

"Okay." He hopped out of the car and went into the school. He hoped Toby would leave him alone today. He had dreaded coming ever since the whole paint balloon incident. He wished he would have been allowed to stay home again today since it was Friday. He turned and waved as she drove off before turning back and facing the building. He was strong and brave. He could do this. Hunching his shoulders tightly, he marched inside.

* * *

"Sweetie, hi," Angela said, catching up to Brennan as she went into her office. "Look, Hodgins wants to do this big announcement that we're having a baby, and, well, everyone already knows, so could you be a dear and pretend that it's the first time you're hearing it?"

"I will do my best," Brennan nodded. She sat down and pulled out a file from her desk drawer.

"That's all I can ask for," Angela smiled. "How's it going? Are you ever going to go back out in the field with Booth again?"

"I don't know," Brennan confessed. She felt like she wanted to, especially after the last few days. They had been talking again over the phone and via text like they used to.

"I think you should," Angela said solemnly. "You guys are partners. So what if Hannah gets her nose out of joint?"

"I don't know what that means," Brennan replied, bending over her notes. "But it sounds painful, which I have to say might be satisfying a little."

"Brennan!" Angela laughed. "I didn't realize you hated her so much."

"Not hate. Just a big dislike. She thinks we're going to be friends, and I don't much care for that idea. Plus, she came snooping around asking questions about where Louis came from."

"She didn't!"

"Yes. It unnerved me. I think she's up to something."

"I know I'm not her biggest fan, but do you really think she'd do something like that?" Angela asked, shocked.

"I don't know. I didn't like the expression on her face. I think she thinks I kidnapped Louis, which I didn't," Brennan added defensively.

"I know that," Angela nodded. "Daisy is also a witness to it."

"His papers are legit," Brennan went on. "But I feel I should talk to a lawyer here to make sure."

"Caroline will do it," Angela said immediately.

"Yes, you're right. I'll see if I can meet with her later," Brennan said, bobbing her head.

"Hey, babe!" Hodgins called from the door. "I've got news for you!"

"What's that?" Angela asked, skeptical.

"Human remains in a big chocolate bar!" he answered excitedly. Then he was gone. Brennan and Angela looked at each other.

"Only he would be excited about something like that," Angela snorted.

"Guess it's time to get to work," Brennan smiled. They went to join the rest of the team on the platform. Booth was standing there too. He kept meeting Brennan's eyes.

"You know," Nigel-Murray started. "It was widely rumored that Pope Clement the 14th was killed with a cup of poisoned chocolate."

"Was he good or bad?" Cam asked.

"He was no Urban the Sixth," Nigel-Murray answered.

"Ah," Cam nodded.

"He was the answer to my record breaking Double Double win on Jeopardy," Nigel-Murray bragged.

"That's the game you played while I was away?" Brennan asked, curious.

"Not just a game, Dr. Brennan. Vincent won almost a million dollars," Cam said, impressed.

"Which after a rather indulgent lifestyle, travel, some games of chance, and a small stint in rehab, I no longer possess," Nigel-Murray said wistfully. "But I still have the memories..."

"I have to say," Booth said from his corner. "I've really never seen anything like this before."

"I say we'll have to use heat lamps to melt this stuff," Hodgins said, examining it.

"I believe hair dryers would be better," Nigel-Murray argued. They continued bickering about it before Cam stepped in and told them to take it outside. Booth slunk over to Brennan while this was happening.

"Parker's really excited about after school," he said. Brennan smiled.

"So is Louis. They really are close aren't they?"

"They look very similar too. I've had someone ask me if they're brothers," Booth laughed.

"That's funny," Brennan responded, chuckling. Booth looked at his watch.

"Well, I've got to do some questioning. Want to come with?" he asked hopefully.

"I have to do some work here," Brennan answered. "Sorry."

"It's all right," he sighed. He left feeling disappointed, but he knew it would take time before things were completely back to normal between them again.

* * *

"Dad!" Parker called from the swings. "Watch us!" He and Louis were pumping to see how high they could go before jumping off. Louis chickened out most of the time. Booth figured it was because of his leg, but he didn't want to say anything. The kid was ambitious with everything else to make up for his lack of speed on his feet.

"They're so _cute_ ," Hannah commented. Booth was on the bench beside her, his arm around her shoulders. She wondered if he could feel her heart hammering away from fear. She had told Jerry this was where they were going to be. She wasn't sure how this was going to play out when his phone rang.

"Booth."

Hannah watched Louis laughing and smiling as he swung beside Parker. She had to do this right so nothing happened to the poor boy.

"Seriously? Right now? I'm with my son..."

No! Booth couldn't leave! She was panicking now. She wondered if she could take Jerry down herself. She did know some martial arts. He was bigger than her, though, much bigger. She looked around nervously. She didn't see him anywhere yet.

"All right, all right, cool it. I'll be right there," Booth said, snapping his phone shut. "Hannah, I'm real sorry. I gotta go interrogate Lawrence Bellomo."

"Really? You have to?"

"Yea. I'm sorry. You okay here?"

"Oh yea," Hannah smiled brightly while feeling like a terrified mouse inside. "I got this."

"Great," he said, giving her a kiss. "Call if you need me."

 _Oh don't worry_ , she thought. _I will_.

* * *

"It seems to me, cherie, that these are legal and legit documents," Caroline said, looking up from the papers in her hands. Brennan smiled back.

"I'm very glad to hear that," she said. "I know sometimes those places are questionable..."

"These would most definitely hold up in a court of law," Caroline cut in. "It's always good to check, though. How is the little guy doing?"

"He's well. He had an allergic reaction to peanut butter the other day, but otherwise he's adapting to life here just fine. He loves school except for the bullying," Brennan said.

"Who would bully such a cute little thing?!" Caroline demanded, looking at Louis' picture again.

"I don't know. I'm trying to get to the bottom of it."

"If you need help, call me," Caroline offered. "I eat bullies for breakfast."

"Thanks, Caroline," Brennan laughed.

"I know a great karate class he could join," Caroline went on. "No bullies would mess with him after that."

"I'll let you know," Brennan said, standing up after Caroline handed over her papers. Then her phone rang. "Oh, excuse me. Hello?"

Caroline had trouble visualizing Brennan as a mother, but seeing the way her face lit up when she talked about Louis made it a little easier.

"What?! Booth! You left him alone with her?!" Brennan shouted.

"Uh oh," Caroline muttered.

"I'm going right now," she snapped, hanging up.

"Trouble in paradise?"

"Booth left Louis alone with Hannah, and she's been asking me where he came from. She thinks I stole him," Brennan said, grabbing her purse and getting ready to storm out.

"I can help clear that up," Caroline said. "Let me drive. I'll put that little so and so in her place."

"That's not necessary..."

"Oh, it is," Caroline interrupted. She wasn't fond of Hannah. She didn't think Booth should be with her at all. Caroline found Hannah to act fake in most situations. Booth needed a real person to be with. Someone like Dr. Brennan. Caroline marched ahead while Brennan followed at her heels. Brennan was furious at Booth. He knew she didn't like or trust Hannah, and he left her with Louis! Just when things were looking normal again between them, he had to go and wreck it.

* * *

Louis was on top of the monkey bars when he saw him. Parker was down below, chattering away about something, but Louis stopped listening. All Louis could see was Jerry. The man couldn't be missed cos he was a giant. A scary giant at that. Louis had nightmares about Jerry. He looked over at Hannah, who was also looking at Jerry. Had she told Jerry where to find him? Why was Jerry even here? His parents had told him he was dead. Why would they lie? He felt very scared. He wanted to get away from here and fast. He climbed down slowly so as not to attract attention to himself. Once he was on the ground, he bolted.

"Hey!" Parker called after him. Louis didn't stop. He ran as hard as he could, trying to focus on not following. He didn't turn around to see whether or not Jerry was chasing him. He didn't want to know. Escape was the only thing on his mind.

* * *

Hannah felt her heart sink when Louis took off. Jerry shot her a furious glare before going after him. Parker looked at her very confused.

"What's going on?" he asked. The squealing of tires made them both turn around.

"Where is he?!" Brennan shouted, slamming the door shut. Caroline was hot on her tail. Hannah felt her lip curl. Of course Caroline would be involved. They didn't have the best relationship.

"He ran away," Parker answered for her. Brennan looked terrified.

"Where did he go?" she asked him. Parker pointed, and Brennan made to run after him.

"Wait!" Hannah shouted, stepping in front of her. Brennan didn't even hesitate. She shoved Hannah as hard as she could, and Hannah fell backwards, landing on her back hard. Winded, she struggled to get up. Brennan was gone like a shot. Parker now looked scared, and Caroline wondered what the hell she was going to do now. That's when Booth arrived, lights flashing.

"What happened?" he asked urgently, rushing over. Hannah was on her feet by now. Her ankle was a bit tender as it twisted a little when she fell.

"Louis ran away, and Brennan is chasing after him," Hannah replied. Caroline glared at her.

"And why, pray tell, did the boy run away, hmm?" she asked.

"I don't know," Hannah lied.

"Maybe it was because of the guy," Parker cut in. Booth stared at him.

"What guy, bud?"

"The guy that was watching us over there," Parker pointed. "I thought maybe he was watching his kid, but there's no other kid here."

"Hannah?" Booth asked, seeing her face after the man was mentioned. It didn't look good.

"I can't talk about it," Hannah said, moving to run away. She had to get out of there, had to see if her sister was okay.

"Hannah!" Booth shouted after her.

"Let her go, cherie," Caroline said. "We need to find Louis."

"You're right," Booth said. "I'll go. You take Parker home, okay?" He'd talk to Hannah about this once that boy was safe.

"But!" Parker objected.

"No buts. Listen to Caroline, okay?"

"Fine."

"Good luck, Booth," Caroline said, taking Parker's hand in hers and leading him to her car. Booth rushed after where Brennan had disappeared. He hoped he wasn't going to be too late.

* * *

 **And the plot thickens! We should say that we are nearing the climax and the end of the story. We decided on 11 chapters, so you've got two more to go! Thanks for following us this whole way and leaving us your feedback and enjoying what we've created together. It means a lot to us.**


	10. Chapter 10

**We apologize for the cliffhanger! Here is the next chapter. Only one more to go! Warning: this chapter contains a touch of violence.  
**

* * *

Brennan ran hard. She had no idea where Louis would even go. Imagining him lost in this city was excruciatingly painful. She had to find him. She would never forgive herself if something happened to him.

"LOUIS!" she practically screamed. Why would he run? What had Hannah done to him? Louis wouldn't just run away for no reason. Brennan was frightened. What if the person who murdered his kidnappers was here? What if Louis saw him? Was that why he ran away? She couldn't let him get hurt. She wouldn't. Louis was her son. She had never known that she could ever feel this way, and she let it fuel her as she ran on. No one would ever hurt him on her watch. No one.

* * *

Booth knew he'd lost her. He spun around, looking wildly for her and trying to listen for her voice. There was nothing. He didn't know what to do. He didn't know what man was watching Louis or why. He needed answers from Hannah, and he was going to get them. He made that decision. In order to help Brennan, he needed to know what or who he was dealing with. He raced back to his SUV. He knew Brennan would need extra help, so he made a phone call as he sped off.

"Booth, what a pleasant surprise," Max's voice said on speaker.

"No time for that," Booth cut him off. "Look, Louis ran away from the park today. Brennan is out looking for him. You gotta help her."

"What are you doing?" Max asked. "Don't you specialize in this sort of thing?"

"I'm going to find out who is after Louis," Booth answered. "Just go help her, Max."

"Of course I will," Max spluttered indignantly. "I'm her father." He hung up abruptly. Booth sped on.

* * *

Louis found an abandoned alleyway and hid amongst some trash cans. His heart was racing, and his head was pounding. His vision was blurring a little too. He had never run that fast before. He knew he'd lost Jerry after a bit because he expertly weaved in and out of stores and alleyways. He saw that on TV once. Now all he needed to do was wait until it was dark before trying to find a way back to his Mama. He knew she must be worried sick. He wished he could tell her he was all right. He started to cry. Why was Jerry after him? How was he even alive? Louis thought back to Maluku where his mother told him to run, and then they were killed. He hadn't seen who had done it, but now he was thinking it was Jerry. Then Temperance had found him hiding in the brush. She had saved him, he knew it. He wished he had gotten the chance to tell her that.

* * *

Jerry cursed as he lost sight of the boy. Then a police officer stopped him and started asking him questions about why he was running. Was he in danger?

"No. Everything's fine," Jerry assured the officer. The boy was long gone now. Jerry wanted to kill the officer for interfering, but he let it go. He turned away, seething. He was going to find that boy, and he knew how he was gonna do it. There was a certain blonde who owed him this, and he was going to get was his.

* * *

Hannah was throwing things in her bag when the door came flying off it's hinges. She whirled around, wielding a bat she'd found in Booth's closet.

"You little bitch!" Jerry shouted, lunging. She got one crack at him before he slammed her to the ground, the bat skittering away out of reach. Hannah fought back furiously. She was not going to die this way. She kneed him hard in the groin, making him grunt in pain. She managed to get out from under him and tried to run out the apartment. Her leg let go on her, still not completely healed from her surgery, and she fell again. It had flared up again when her ankle and leg had twisted earlier, and she cursed the guy who had shot her previously and making her like this now. Jerry was on top of her back now, slamming her face into the ground.

"You lost him! I'll kill you!" he screamed. "You and your sister and her family!" She reached for her phone, but it skidded away. Booth. She needed Booth. Why hadn't she stayed with him?! She let out a scream just before everything went black.

* * *

Booth saw the door before anything, and he pulled out his gun. His heart was racing. This did not look good at all. He wanted to call out her name, but he knew better. The perp might still be inside. He swung around the corner, searching. His apartment was empty save for Hannah lying on a heap on the ground.

"Hannah!" he cried, dropping to his knees and picking her up into his arms. Her face was bleeding. Her shirt was torn. She was unconscious and covered with bruises. He called EMS immediately. His voice was shaking. Within moments, he was surrounded by paramedics as they had been close by on another call. He watched helplessly as they checked her vitals before loading her onto the stretcher. He followed them out the door and down onto the street. He got into the ambulance with them and held Hannah's hand as they sped along to the hospital. Everything felt like a blur. He wanted to hurt the person who did this to Hannah. As soon as he knew she was going to be stable and sleeping, he was going on a manhunt.

"I will find whoever did this to you," he whispered into her ear. "I promise."

* * *

Brennan was on the verge of tears. She was back at her apartment, hoping that Louis would be there. He wasn't. She was reaching for her phone to call the police when her father suddenly appeared in front of her.

"Dad!" she cried. "What are you doing here?"

"Booth called," he answered. "Have you found Louis?"

"No. I don't know where he is. I thought maybe he'd be here, but he's not. Dad, I don't know where to look," she cried.

"Come on," Max said, taking her hand. "We'll find him."

* * *

It was almost dark now. Louis started to walk again. He heard sirens in the distance, and he shivered. He felt afraid. He wanted his Mama. He wanted to be back home. Not here in D.C. but in Paris. He missed home. He had vague memories of there, but they were strong enough to stay in his mind. There was the tree in the backyard with the swing he remembered. It was his favorite place. He couldn't remember who was pushing him on it, but he remembered laughing and feeling happy. Louis didn't see the woman until he was right upon her.

"Are you lost?" she asked, looking at him sympathetically.

"I am," he nodded.

"Oh, you poor dear!" she cried. "Where do you live?"

"I don't remember," Louis said truthfully. He wished he'd paid more attention to the address. Then he remembered something else. He looked up at her.

"The Royal Diner," he said. "Can you help me get there? My Mama works there." A small lie, but he didn't want her to call the police. He didn't want to make a big deal out of this and upset his Mama.

"Yes!" she said., smiling broadly. "I know where that is. Come on!" He took her outstretched hand, and they headed towards the diner.

* * *

Caroline was sipping her coffee when she saw a boy with a woman come inside. Caroline set down her cup. She recognized that boy. Louis looked over at her, and she knew it was him for sure. She pulled out her phone.

"Dr. Brennan? I found him. Yes, he's at the Royal Diner. I'll get him something to eat," she promised before hanging up. She stood and went over to the woman.

"Excuse me," she said, interrupting. "Louis?"

"Yea?" Louis asked, confused. Who was this woman?

"I'm a friend of your mother's. I'm Caroline Julian. I just called her, and she's on her way," Caroline explained. Louis' eyes lit up. Then he started to cry. The woman, seeing that Louis was taken care of, left as she had other places to be.

"She's really coming?" he asked tearfully.

"Yes, dear. She's coming. Now, let's get you some dinner huh?" Caroline said, steering him to her booth where she flagged down a waitress and ordered him a hamburger. Louis devoured it.

"Thank you Ms. Julian," Louis said, wiping the ketchup from his chin. Caroline handed him a napkin.

"You can call me Auntie Caroline, sweetness," she replied. Louis chattered about school and Paris a little bit while they waited. Caroline loved this little boy already. Before long, Brennan and Max burst into the diner.

"Louis!" Brennan cried.

"Mama!" Louis cried back. She rushed over, and he threw his arms around her.

"Now that's a happy ending I like to see," Caroline noted. Max patted her shoulder.

"Thanks for looking after him," he said.

"Are you all right?" Brennan asked Louis. He nodded through his tears.

"I wanna go home," he whimpered.

"Okay," she said, squeezing him tightly. "Let's go home."

* * *

The doctors told Booth that Hannah was lucky to be alive. He had sat with her for a while to make sure she was going to be okay before going to work. He had felt torn between waiting for her to wake up and finding out what was going on. He eventually decided on the latter since this guy was still loose. He called a fellow agent from the FBI to come and stand guard, and when he arrived, Booth left. He went to Hannah's office and searched her desk. He found a missing child ad tucked in her top drawer. He stared at it. This Jerry Pasquel guy was looking for Louis. He wished Hannah could talk to him right now. Then he had an idea. He went out to find one of her coworkers. Even though it was seven thirty, there were still people working.

"Hey," he said, catching one. "Can you tell me if Hannah was talking to a man named Jerry yesterday?"

"Sorry," the woman replied. "I have no idea."

"Thanks," Booth said as she kept walking. He felt frustrated. Three other staff members didn't know either. Had Hannah been doing it in secret? He decided to go back to his office and look this guy up. He hoped the guy was stupid enough to use his real name. It seemed French. He was going to get some answers.

* * *

Max didn't say a word as they drove back to Brennan's apartment. Louis was still sniffling while she held him in the backseat.

"I wanna go home," he said again.

"We are going home," she answered.

"No. Not that home. Home," he said. Brennan was confused. What was he talking about?

"Maluku?" she asked. An odd place to call home, but he was there for three years so maybe.

"No. Paris," he replied. Well, that made more sense to her.

"Why do you want to go there?" she questioned.

"Cos I miss it. I wanna go home," he repeated. He buried his head into her arm. Brennan held him close. She didn't know what to say. She hated seeing her son so upset. She sat in silence for the rest of the ride. She would do anything for Louis. Maybe going to Paris wasn't such a crazy idea.

"Jerry was here," Louis said suddenly. "He was at the park. That's why I ran away."

"I thought your uncle Jerry was dead?" Brennan asked.

"I thought so too," Louis whispered. He looked up at her.

"Why would he want to hurt you?" she asked.

"I don't know. Mama, he's a bad man."

"I won't let him hurt you. I promise," Brennan told him. And she wouldn't. They got to her apartment and headed up the stairs.

"What are you thinking?" Max said as Louis went in ahead of her and ran to the bathroom. Brennan didn't answer him and went to her room. She pulled out her phone.

"Ange?"

"Yea?"

"Do you still have your condo in Paris?"

"Yes. Why?"

"Louis wants to go home, and I want to take him there. Can l use it?"

"Of course! Why so sudden? Is everything all right?" Angela asked, worried.

"Everything is fine," Brennan lied. "Can I come get the key right now?"

"Okay, now I know you're lying," Angela said. "Why do you need the key right now? It's eight at night!"

"I'll explain when I get there," Brennan answered, lowering her voice.

"You better," Angela said, hanging up. Brennan grabbed a suitcase and started throwing stuff into it. Jerry was NOT going to hurt her Louis.

"Louis, pack a bag," Brennan said, going into his room. "We're going to Paris."

"Really? Now?"

"Yes."

Louis scrambled. He picked things he wanted to take that he deemed important. Within moments, they were heading back out the door.

"Tempe!" Max called after them. Brennan ignored him and helped Louis get into the car. Then she popped the trunk and started putting the bags in.

"What are you doing?" he asked, watching.

"I'm taking Louis to Paris," Brennan answered. "He's not safe here."

"You're crazy," Max said as she finished packing the car. "Honey, you can't do this."

"Well guess what, I wished for my whole life that you had taken me with you when you knew I could be in danger, so that's what I'm doing now," she snapped.

"Yes, but, you don't know if he's in danger for sure," Max tried.

"Yes, I do. Call it instinct, but I know it's coming," she told him. "Excuse me." She got into the driver's seat and buckled up.

"I wanted to bring you, remember?" Max said. "It was your mother who said no. She figured you were safer where you were."

"I can't be mad at her. She's dead. You aren't," Brennan retorted.

"You are very much like her, you know," Max said.

"Good to know," Brennan responded. She threw the car in gear and went to pull away. Then he made his decision.

"DAD!" she screamed when he launched himself onto the hood.

"I'm coming with you!" he shouted back through the windshield.

"What?"

"I'm coming too!" he yelled. He slid off and opened the passenger door, getting in. "You say I abandoned you then, well, I'm not abandoning you now. Let's go."

"Dad..."

"Don't 'Dad' me. I'm coming. Drive," he ordered. Brennan looked at him, feeling grateful that he did care about her after all. She let off the brake and floored it.

* * *

Angela opened the door to see Brennan standing there.

"Hi," Brennan said.

"What's going on?" Angela asked.

"I think there's someone after Louis. I'm going to Paris to escape," Brennan answered. Angela looked shocked.

"Are you sure that's a good idea? Does Booth know? He could help..."

"No. I'm leaving him out of this. Dad is coming with me. That's protection enough."

"I really think..."

"No, Ange," Brennan cut her off. "Please. Give me your key." Angela hesitated for a moment before handing it over.

"Be safe, Brennan," she said. "If you need help, look up my friend Francine in Paris. She will help you."

"I will," Brennan promised. She hugged her friend tightly before turning to go back to her car. Angela stood in the doorway feeling suddenly afraid for her best friend.

* * *

Booth was staring at his computer screen. He had been sitting there for hours researching. In the end, he didn't find a Jerry Pasquel, but he did find a Gerry Francis, and Booth's gut told him it was the same guy. He was wanted by the French Police for murder. He had printed off the picture and took it to Parker. Rebecca had been a little reluctant to let him see Parker so late at night (it was almost 9:30 now), but Booth explained it was urgent, so she agreed.

"Hey, bud," Booth said. "Can you tell me if this was the guy from the park?" He showed Parker the picture.

"Yea, that's him," Parker agreed. "Is he a bad man? Is Louis okay?"

"I'm gonna find out, okay? Get back to bed," Booth said, giving him a kiss on the forehead.

"Everything all right?" Rebecca asked.

"It will be," Booth answered. Now that he knew who he was looking for, things were going to get settled.

* * *

 **Duh, duh, duuhh! The grand finale will be posted soon as we don't want to keep you waiting too long!**


	11. Chapter 11

**Here we are at our final chapter. We can't thank you enough for following, favoriting, and reviewing along the way. We hope you enjoy this last update.**

* * *

"Do you need money?" Max asked, reaching for his wallet.

"No, Dad. Money is never an issue," Brennan answered. She paid for their tickets while Louis looked around the airport nervously. He kept thinking he saw Jerry everywhere.

"We'll be out of here soon," Brennan promised, seeing his distress.

"Will he find us?"

"If he does, I'll fix him," Max assured him. Louis didn't look very reassured. They went to sit and wait for their plane to be boarded. Brennan saw that Booth was trying to call her, and she ignored it. Max noticed, but he didn't comment. He trusted his daughter to know what she was doing. Before too long, they were aboard the plane and flying off to Paris.

* * *

Booth growled in frustration. Brennan hadn't been answering him all night. He knew she was angry at him, but why wasn't she answering when she knew that he knew Louis was missing?! He was going to go see how Hannah was doing, and then he was going to find Brennan. When he arrived at the hospital, the nurse directed him to Hannah's room. There was a woman in the room when he got there. She looked up at him.

"Hi," she said.

"Hi. Who are you?" he asked.

"I'm Hailey," she answered. "Hannah's sister. I got a call..." She turned to look at Hannah sadly. "You must be Seeley."

"I'm sorry this happened," Booth said.

"It's not your fault. Just promise me the person who did this will get what they deserve," Hailey said bitterly.

"I'm working on it," Booth said. He went over to Hannah and brushed the hair out of her face.

"I gotta go to the bathroom," Hailey said after a moment. She left to give him some privacy. She knew he was Hannah's boyfriend. It was now almost midnight. To his surprise, Hannah stirred and opened her eyes.

"Hey," he said.

"Hi," she replied. Her voice was husky.

"How are you feeling?"

"Like I've been hit by a mack truck," she answered.

"Hannah, who did this to you?"

"Jerry," she answered. "I can only assume that you've gone to my work and figured that out already."

"I did. What did he want with Louis?"

"He said he was the boy's uncle. I believed him at first. Then things got weird. He didn't want the police involved, so I tried to back out of helping him. He threatened to hurt my sister and her family if I told anyone. I was supposed to give him Louis, but Louis ran away. That's why he hurt me," Hannah explained. "Is Louis okay?" She really wanted the boy to be okay.

"I don't know. Bones won't answer my calls," Booth replied. "I gotta go check on her."

"She's angry with me," Hannah commented. "She has every right to be."

"Hannah, I wish you had just told me," Booth said.

"I couldn't. Not without making sure my sister was safe, and she wouldn't go on a trip like I asked her to," Hannah argued.

"If you had told me what was going on, I would have," Hailey said, coming into the room. "Hannah, you dope. Why didn't you just tell me?"

"I didn't want to scare you," Hannah admitted.

"Is this guy still out there?"

"Yea."

"Well, go get him!" Hailey ordered. "I have things under control here."

"I'm on it," Booth nodded. "I have an agent from the FBI outside this room for protection."

"Please stay," Hannah said suddenly. "It's after midnight. You're not going to get anything accomplished right now. Just stay here with me for a bit and then go."

"All right," Booth agreed. He was exhausted. In a few hours, he would go to Brennan's apartment and make her talk to him. Hannah watched as got comfortable in the chair. She knew his heart would never be hers, it was written on his face. She knew that after tonight, they would no longer be a couple, whether he knew it or not. She was making the decision. Her sister would help her. She would go back overseas to work. Life would move on. Hannah didn't want to keep Booth from the person he was truly in love with. She just hoped that Brennan saw it too.

* * *

"Here we are," Brennan said, opening the door to Angela and Hodgin's condo in Paris. Max was exhausted. Louis was excited. He hadn't slept much on the plane.

"Can we go to my old home?" he asked, jumping.

"Let's have a little rest first," Brennan suggested.

"Hear, hear," Max groaned, heading to the spare bedroom.

"But I'm not tired," Louis said, laughing.

"I know, but I am, so I recommend you sleep too or at least lie down," Brennan said, smoothing his hair with her hand.

"Okay," he finally agreed. "Can I snuggle with you?"

"Sure." She found the master bedroom and crawled in with Louis curling up next to her. It was all she could ask for. Louis was safe. They would explore his homeland, and hopefully by the time they went home, the danger would have passed.

* * *

"Booth, you can't go after her," Cam said. "You don't even know where she went!" It was six in the morning, and the team was at work early to catch the chocolate killer. Booth had barged in and interrupted everything.

"I know where she went," he told her. He had an idea. When he had gone to her apartment an hour earlier, it had looked like a tornado had gone through it. The big poster in Louis' room that had Paris written all over it gave him the clue. He also knew it told Jerry where they were going too. Yes, Brennan had mocked his gut feelings before, but he was listening to it again for the second time that night/day. He ran to Angela's office where she was working. She looked up at him.

"What?"

"Where is she?"

"I can't say."

"Angela, Jerry is after them. I NEED to get to them."

"She's safe," Angela promised.

"Jerry is a very dangerous man, Ange, so tell me. NOW." He looked at her sharply. She sighed.

"She's staying at our old condo," she answered. She gave him the address.

"You just saved them both," Booth told her. He hurried out the building. He took the next flight to Paris, where he knew she had gone to hide. He spent the whole flight anxious to get there. Jerry might get to them first. That's what worried him the most.

* * *

"You must be Temperance," the woman said, smiling. Brennan stared. How on Earth did this woman know her? They were in the condo that Angela and Hodgins owned, and this woman randomly knocked on their door. She looked to be in her late twenties.

"And who are you?" Max demanded. Brennan knew he had a gun on him. He had disappeared after his nap for a while, and she knew he had gone to purchase one from a pawn shop most likely.

"I'm Francine," the woman replied. "Angela called and told me you were coming."

"I see," Brennan said, relaxing.

"You must be Louis," Francine went on. She beamed at the boy. Then she paused. There was something awfully familiar about him...

"Yup," Louis said proudly. "I'm from here."

"Really?" Francine asked, feeling more and more like she knew who this boy was.

"Yes. Louis was here for about three years before he and his family left," Brennan told her.

"How did he end up with you?" Francine asked.

"I found him alone on Maluku Islands. I adopted him."

"How lovely." Francine studied Louis' eyes. She knew those eyes. She herself had fallen under their charm once in a different time on a different man.

"We're off to go sightseeing," Max interrupted. He didn't like the way this woman was looking at Louis.

"You go," Brennan said. "I'll catch up."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. You're just going down to the creek aren't you?" There was a bit of a creek that ran in behind the condos. They had a good view of it from the back. They were six stories up after all.

"Yes."

"Okay. I'll meet you there."

Max left with Louis reluctantly.

"You know Louis," Brennan said to Francine once they were gone.

"H-how...what makes you say that?" she asked, nervous.

"The way you were looking at him. You recognize him," Brennan said. "It's okay."

"I...I think I know who his father is."

"Is this them?" Brennan asked, pulling out the newspaper article she'd printed off in Angela's office that day. It felt so long ago now. Francine took it gingerly and looked at it. Then she covered her mouth with her hand.

"Yes," she cried, nodding. "Those are his parents. That's Adrian!"

"And Angelique," Brennan added.

"Yes. Did you know them?"

"Know them? I was in love with Adrian all through college. He came here from Greece because he wanted to spread his wings and travel away from home."

"What happened?"

"I...I was too afraid to tell him how I felt. He met my roommate and friend, Angelique, and they fell in love. Who was I to intrude on that?"

"You must have been very hurt."

"I was sad, yes, but I loved him. I loved her too. She became like a sister to me. They got married here and had Louis. Two years later, they were murdered," Francine broke off. Her eyes filled with tears. "Such a waste. They were so young."

"How young?"

"Twenty two. I'm twenty eight now. Louis is six now, yes?"

"He is."

"He looks so much like his father," Francine whispered. Brennan had the desire to know everything about Louis' real parents just then, and this was her chance.

"Tell me about them," she said. Francine looked at her.

"What do you mean?"

"I want to know what they liked and disliked. Favorite hobbies. Skills. Anything. I want to know Louis' heritage. I want him to know who he is and who he came from."

"Of course. Come over and we'll have some tea, hmm?"

* * *

Jerry knew where they were. He had ransacked the doctor's apartment after they left and discovered that the boy wanted to go back to Paris. Why else did he have a box full of Paris stuff and a huge photo of the Eiffel Tower on his wall? He'd heard the kid crying about going home too when he'd followed them home. It had been pure luck that he spotted them at that diner. He hadn't attacked because the guy had been with them. He hadn't liked the look of him, so he waited until they left to do his work. He had waited to take a different flight so as not to alert the boy that he was following them. It had been easy to avoid the FBI agent man. He'd recognized him from the photo in Hannah's wallet and made sure he sat far away from him. The guy was so disoriented in this country that Jerry had been able to slip away unnoticed. Now, he was going to find the doctor, the man, and the boy, and they were on his turf, his territory. They were not going to be safe for long. It hadn't taken much to ask around about American citizens with a young curly haired boy with a limp. Cabbies were great at giving information. Jerry looked up at the condo near the top. That's where they were. It was time to introduce himself.

* * *

Max and Louis wandered a ways away from the creek since Brennan didn't come down. Max assumed she was having a conversation with Francine. They waited a few moments before Louis posed the question of exploring. There was something about this place that was familiar.

"Can we walk?" he asked Max suddenly.

"Lead the way," Max replied, gesturing. Louis kept walking alongside the creek until they reached a small clearing with a large tree on it. Swaying in the wind, was a swing.

"This is it," he breathed. Then he ran towards it. Max followed.

"What's what?" he asked, curious.

"The swing from my memory!" Louis called, pumping his legs hard. He could see it all over again. A man who wasn't his Papa was laughing while a woman who wasn't his Mama was pushing and encouraging him to pump harder and hang on tight. It puzzled him. Who were they? Max watched the boy carefully. He could see something going on behind his eyes, but he didn't know what.

"Can you push me?" Louis asked.

"Sure," Max agreed, getting behind him. They stayed for a little while until Louis grew tired of swinging.

"You ready to go back?" Max asked as Louis slowed to a stop.

"Yea." Louis hopped off the swing. Together they walked back to the condo, holding hands.

* * *

Booth landed in Paris and immediately felt out of place. He didn't understand French, so getting directions was rather difficult. Thankfully, he met a bilingual gentleman who graciously helped him get a cab and give directions to Angela and Hodgins' condo to the cabbie. He jiggled his legs nervously on the ride there. He hoped Brennan wouldn't be too angry that he'd come here. He hoped he had beaten Jerry. He felt sick. Something wasn't right.

"Can you hurry up?" he asked the cabbie, who looked at him and shrugged. Booth sighed and fell back in his seat.

* * *

Brennan was with Francine when they heard the scream from inside the hallway. Both women leaped to their feet and ran to the door.

"It's Jerry!" Francine gasped.

"No!" Brennan screamed. Max had been knocked down, and Jerry was dragging the boy into Angela and Hodgins' condo. Brennan raced to the door and yanked it open. Max struggled to get up and hurried after her. He was pissed that this guy had had the jump on him. He pulled his gun out of his waistline and went in after Brennan. Francine hurried to call the police. Once inside, Max saw that things were bad. Jerry had the boy. He was saying a lot of threatening things. Max saw the look on Brennan's face. The terror.

"Put the boy down," Max ordered. Louis was shouting and kicking, making Jerry have a difficult time holding him.

"No," Jerry said. "He needs to go. Like his good for nothing parents."

"MAMA!" Louis screamed.

"Dad, do something!" Brennan shrieked at him.

"I'm trying. I can't just shoot him," Max said. Jerry was laughing now.

"I know you won't miss," Brennan snapped, still looking.

"He's got a moving target in his arms, Tempe. It's harder than it looks," he told her. Jerry moved to the balcony.

"Dad, he's gonna drop him!" Brennan shouted.

"Jerry," Max said. "You don't wanna do that."

"Oh, but I do," Jerry said. Max worried now. They were six stories up. The boy would die if he was dropped. Brennan's crying was not helping him focus.

"What do you want?" Brennan asked suddenly. "Money? I have loads of it. You can have it all."

"I don't want anything from you," Jerry snarled. "I'm just finishing a job I started a long time ago."

"Jerry..." Max started.

"AAAARRRRGGGGGHHHHH!" Jerry screamed. Louis had chomped down onto his hand and was biting very hard. Jerry dropped him, screaming in pain. Louis crawled over to hide behind the couch. Jerry moved to shoot him, but Max was first. Jerry dropped like a stone onto the balcony. Louis had covered his ears and screamed.

"Dad," Brennan started. The doors burst open, and policemen and women swarmed the room. They pointed their guns at Max, who lowered his and dropped it to the ground.

"Hey!" Brennan shouted when they handcuffed him.

"It's all right," Max said. "They have to do this."

"But-"

"Just bail me out. There's enough evidence he was hurting Louis. It'll be all right," Max said as they led him away. A policewoman began talking to Brennan, who tried to explain what had happened. That's when she heard yelling from down on the street.

"I am FBI! Here's my badge!"

"Booth?" she said, sticking her head out the window.

"Ma'am?" the officer said.

"That's my friend! He's FBI, you can't arrest him," Brennan said.

"He was holding a gun and aiming it at your friend here," the officer said, gesturing to Jerry. "If he's innocent, he'll be free in a few hours."

"He was going to kill my son," Brennan said. The officer saw Louis then, and her eyes almost popped out of her head.

"Louis Doukas," she whispered. "My God."

"You knew his parents?" Brennan asked.

"Yes. I've been trying to solve this mystery for four years. I can't believe he's alive. He's your son you said?"

"Yes, I adopted him. Here, I have papers," Brennan said, showing her. The officer looked at them.

"Bless your soul," she said. "I'm so glad this boy has a happy ending after all."

"Who took him?" Brennan asked.

"Drug addicts who owed this man a lot of money," the officer explained, gesturing to Jerry. She finally recognized him. "They were nobodies. Well, the woman was his sister actually. We believe they fled the country to avoid being killed."

"Why did they murder his parents?"

"They didn't. Jerry did. See, he was in love with Angelique, and they had dated a while before she met Adrian. She had broken up with him because of his violent nature. She wouldn't take him back. My guess is they moved around a lot to avoid him, but he eventually caught up to them. I don't know if he knew about Louis. Anyhow, we pieced it together about a year after the murders, but he escaped Paris and had been on the run ever since. Good riddance I say. I expect your father will be released soon as there are a lot of witnesses who saw what happened."

"But how did it turn out that Louis was kidnapped? I'm confused," Brennan said.

"The drug addicts were renting the bottom half of their house," the officer explained. "The woman, Jerry's sister, had become friends with Angelique when she and Jerry used to date, and Angelique felt bad for them and gave them a place to stay according to a Francine, who was also a friend of the family. My guess is they were watching Louis when Jerry came and killed them."

"But Louis knows Jerry. How is that possible?"

"I can explain," Louis said quietly from where he was hiding. Brennan whirled around.

"Go ahead," the officer gestured. Louis crawled out and stood up.

"Mama and Papa were always nervous here. I remember that. I also remember Mama changing how I looked. She would get angry at me if I asked her why. They kept getting sick, and she would call Uncle Jerry to come watch me. I heard her and Papa fighting about it, and Mama would always say that Jerry wouldn't recognize me. She told me to never look Jerry right in the eyes. I never knew what that meant."

"That would be from the drugs," the officer explained to Brennan. "The being sick part."

"And Jerry would recognize Adrian's eyes," Brennan clued in.

"Anyway," Louis went on. "Jerry seemed nice, but then one day he came over and yelled at my parents that I was 'Angelique's Boy,' and I didn't know what he meant. He got real mad and threw stuff. Mama and Papa called the police, which made Uncle Jerry run away. Then suddenly we were going on an adventure."

"To Maluku," Brennan nodded.

"Yea." He looked at her sadly. "I'm sorry I left that stuff out when we first met. They made we swear not to tell, like with my leg." Louis was feeling all kinds of mixed things having just heard that his real parents had been murdered too, and he was finally understanding that his Mama and Papa were not his real parents, that they abused him to keep him from going out of their sight out of fear that Jerry would find him and kill him. It made him feel sad towards them. He came to the conclusion that the man and woman from his swing memory must have been his real parents. He wished he could remember them better.

"It's okay, Louis," Brennan reassured him, bending down to hug him.

"They weren't always so mean," Louis said quietly. Brennan recalled the happy family photo she had taken and then put back. She started thinking that perhaps the reason they didn't want Louis to run away was because of Jerry. Brennan still felt angry towards them. There were better ways of keeping a child safe than by physically hurting him. She turned to the officer after a moment.

"Can I go see my Dad and my friend now?"

"Of course. Right after we finish up your statement."

* * *

Booth was arguing with Max in their shared cell.

"It was my shot," Booth said.

"No, it was mine," Max responded. "I may be older, but I am still fast."

"I'm telling you, my bullet got to him first," Booth argued. A noise at the door startled them.

"Are you about done?" Brennan asked. The guard came along with the keys.

"You are free to go," the guard said. Booth hurried over to her, and she hugged him tightly. She hugged Max too.

"Thanks, Dad," she whispered. "I know it was your shot that got him."

"Thanks, Tempe," Max grinned. "If you'll excuse me, I really need a drink." He went off to find a bar of some kind to gather his thoughts and to give his daughter and that FBI agent some time alone.

"How'd you do it?" he asked as they walked out of the jail. "Bail us out I mean?"

"Witnesses from below saw that Jerry was going to drop Louis, that it was self-defense. The police also have been trying to capture him for years for murdering Louis' real parents. Oh, and Louis' bite on his hand also proved he was being held against his will," Brennan stated.

"Where is he? Louis?" Booth asked, looking around.

"He's with Francine," Brennan explained. "His biological mother's best friend."

"Okay," Booth nodded. He looked at Brennan then. "I am sorry, Bones. About everything."

"Don't be."

"But I am."

"Booth, I know you love Hannah," Brennan said, smiling sadly. "It's okay."

"It doesn't feel okay," he said, stopping suddenly. They stood on the sidewalk as the sky released a gentle rain.

"It really is okay. Go home, Booth. Go home to Hannah."

 _But I don't want to_ , Booth thought. Brennan looked at him as though she was reading his mind. Her eyes were begging him to just let it go, not to get into it here.

"All right," he said after a while. "You sure you're okay here?"

"Yea. We're just gonna spend some more time visiting places before we come home," Brennan replied. "I'll see you in a week or two."

"Okay."

"Bye, Booth."

"Bye, Bones."

Booth felt empty as he hailed a cab to take him to the airport. He looked back at Brennan standing on the curb, waving sadly. He had no idea what his future held. He couldn't believe that it wasn't going to be with her.

* * *

Francine watched Louis go through the photo album. His eyes were shining.

"These are really my parents?" he asked, looking up at her.

"Yes," she answered. He smiled then.

"They're happy," he noted. He was currently looking at a photo where Angelique and Adrian were holding Louis between them and laughing at the camera while Louis was grinning up at his mother.

"They certainly were," Francine agreed.

"Did you know them well?"

"They were my best friends."

"Can you tell me stories?" Louis asked hopefully. Francine nodded.

"I'll tell you my favorite," Francine said.

"Which one is that?"

"The one where your father met your mother." Francine launched into the story, explaining how Adrian had entered Angelique's classroom by mistake and caused confusion. Embarrassed, he had run out, but Angelique looked for him all day until she found him. They went for coffee, and sparks flew. Louis noticed Francine's eyes were wet when she finished.

"Can I have this?" Louis asked, pointing at the one picture.

"Sweetheart, you can have the whole book," Francine said. "You need it more than I do."

"Wow," Louis breathed. He looked down at the book again. "Thank you."

"You're welcome, dear. Just remember that they were happy and in love, and they very much loved you."

"I will."

* * *

 **A Week Later**

"Does it ever bother you?" Brennan asked Cam. They were heading out the door from work together after Brennan's first day back.

"What?"

"That you never knew Michelle's mother?"

"Sometimes," Cam admitted. "I mean, I know Michelle loves me, but I wish I could know what her mother was like so I could know if Michelle took after her, you know? Her smile. Her laugh. The way she tosses her hair when she's nervous. I will never know."

"Francine gave me some answers," Brennan told her. "She was friends with Adrian and Angelique. I found it helpful. She also gave Louis a photo album of pictures of his parents. She is currently writing a journal with everything she knows about them for Louis. I expect she'll send it soon."

"It's not the same as knowing them personally, but it does help a lot," Cam agreed. "I wish I knew some of Michelle's mother's friends."

"Do you ever find it hard? That you're the adopted mother?"

"A little, but I know Michelle loves me. I'm sure Louis loves you."

"I think he does. He says he does. I just feel like I won't make a very good mother to him at times."

"Dr. Brennan, I disagree. You saved him and took him in and are raising him. That takes a lot of strength and bravery. Don't ever feel that you aren't a good mother."

"I almost killed him with peanut butter..."

"You didn't know! Even biological mothers make mistakes. Dr. Brennan, take a deep breath and let it go. Trust me. We're not perfect parents. We do the best we can. You will be just fine," Cam told her, smiling. She patted Brennan's shoulder and walked out the door. Brennan felt a sense of pride then, that she was indeed a good mother. She could do this. She went to her car and got in. She had a son to pick up from school.

* * *

"Hannah?" Booth called, setting down his keys and phone on the counter. There was no answer from within his apartment. He looked around, noticing that her things were missing. He frowned, puzzled. He didn't think she was going off to work so soon. However, she was a tough woman, so it didn't surprise him. He was a little disappointed she didn't say goodbye in person, though. Then he saw the letter on the table. He picked it up and opened it, seeing Hannah's handwriting.

 _Seeley,_

 _I wish I had a better way of saying this, but here goes. I think we should let go of each other. You are a very good man, and I love you, but I know that deep down, you're in love with someone else. I couldn't help but see that this past week and in the weeks before. That's okay. Really. No, really. Yes, Seeley, really. Stop arguing with me! (I'm assuming you're disagreeing with me like you always do). Anyway, I really, truly think you should be with the person you are so in love with. Go after her, Seeley. Don't give up, and when you get her, don't let her go. I'll always hold a special place for you in my heart, but please, don't miss out because you think you truly love me. Don't lie to yourself. I wish you all the best, and I hope one day we can see each other again and have a coffee as good friends. Take care._

 _Hannah_

Booth folded the letter back up and dropped it on the table. So she was gone. He looked around again. She knew about his secret feelings for Brennan. Had she always known? Had he? Was she right? He grabbed his keys and headed for his SUV. He needed to find out.

* * *

Louis was giggling on the swings with Parker as Brennan watched when Booth walked up to her. He'd known where to find her from Rebecca, who had dropped Parker off at the park. Ever since Paris, Louis seemed to have a permanent grin on his face.

"May I?" Booth asked, gesturing beside her.

"Of course."

He sat, getting comfortable. He watched the boys play for a bit.

"Bones, I have something to say," he started.

"Okay," she nodded.

"I love you," he confessed. "I still do. I never stopped."

"I know," she said.

"I realize you probably still feel the same way as the first time I told you..."

"I don't," she cut him off. "Booth, when you came home with Hannah...that cut me like a knife. I realized then that I loved you. I think I always have in some way. I just didn't allow myself to fully feel it. Louis helped me to feel love. I'm ready, Booth. To love you." He grinned at her slowly as he finally heard the words he'd been dying to hear.

"So now what?" he asked.

"I think this is the part where you kiss me," Brennan smiled.

"Hmm, well, if you say so," he teased. He pulled her in close, savoring the moment. When his lips finally met hers, it was like an explosion.

"Ewww!" Parker and Louis both shouted. Brennan pulled back, laughing.

"Way to ruin the moment, guys," Booth called to them. They waved and laughed before turning to preoccupy themselves with something else.

"You know what is great about moments?" Brennan asked, her eyes twinkling.

"What?"

"You can do them again."

"Ahh," he grinned. She leaned in and kissed him again. It was soft and warm and wonderful.

"So, we're gonna do this?" he asked after. "You and me?"

"Me and you," she nodded. "And Louis."

"I love Louis too," Booth said.

"I know you do."

She rested her head against his shoulder as he put his arm around her. They watched the boys play as the sun began to go down and a new chapter of their lives stretched out before them. Nothing could ever be more perfect.

 **The End**

* * *

 **Message from me, FictionWriter91: Honestly, there is no way to explain the feeling of finishing a story. It's wonderful. I've really enjoyed co-writing this story and sharing it with you all. Thank you to I Love Kol Miakelson for approaching me with this fantastic idea and giving more ideas as we went along. You have a brilliant mind! Thank you to all the readers out there who took the time to follow along with us. I hope you enjoyed the ride. I know I did! All the best, and I hope to see y'all again in the future ;)**

 **Message from I Love Kol Miakelson:** **Dear everyone its me i Love Kol Mikelson. i want to thank you all for amazing comments and advice you gave me and my friend during this amazing journey and that you were with us during it. When i first suggested to my friend lets write story about Brennan adopting a child i couldn't have imagined what it would turn in to, that you all will love it. In my school i was considered a freak that carries around notebook full of ideas. Because of my medical condition, i could never put them in words using my own hands. this was meant to be my goodbye to FF Net but you all convinced me to stay along with my new best friend. i feel like i found my place were i can belong with you all and i hope you will like our next project just as much. i won't reveal too much about it but its loosely inspired by some events that happened to my family.**

 **Please stay tuned for our newest story: The Ghost in the Baby!**


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